THREE  ACRES 
AND  LIBERTY 


BOLTON  HALL 


I     UBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

U  SAN  DIEGO 


G/C 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •    BOSTON  •   CHICAGO  •   DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


A  SIMPLE  MANSION  AT  FKBE  ACKES 


THREE  ACRES 


AND 


LIBERTY 


BY 

BOLTON  HALL 

AUTHOR  "OT~ 
"THINGS  AS  THEY  ARE,"  "THRIFT,"  ETC. 


REVISED   EDITION 


"A  sower  went  out  to  sow,  and  he  sowed  that  which  was  in  his  heart 
— for  what  can  a  man  sow  else ! "       From  "  THE  GAME  OF  LIFE." 

Or,  as  the  Vulgate  has  it,  — 

"Exiit  qui  seminal  seminare  semen  suum." 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1918 

All  rigfitt  re»erv«d 


OOPTKISHT,   1907  AND  1918, 

BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.  Published  March,  1907. 
Reprinted  April,  July,  1907;  March,  1908;  June, 
September,  1910;  April,  1912;  April,  1914. 


New  edition,  revised  February,  1918. 


NortaooB 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  <fe  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


FOREWORD 

WE  are  not  tied  to  a  desk  or  to  a  bench ;  we  stay  there 
only  because  we  think  we  are  tied. 

In  Montana  I  had  a  horse,  which  was  hobbled  every 
night  to  keep  him  from  wandering ;  that  is,  straps  joined  by 
a  short  chain  were  put  around  his  forefeet,  so  that  he  could 
only  hop.  The  hobbles  were  taken  off  in  the  morning,  but 
he  would  still  hop  until  he  saw  his  mate  trotting  off. 

This  book  is  intended  to  show  how  any  one  can  trot  off 
if  he  will. 

It  is  not  a  textbook ;  there  are  plenty  of  good  textbooks, 
which  are  referred  to  herein.  Intensive  cultivation  cannot 
be  comprised  in  any  one  book. 

It  shows  what  is  needed  for  a  city  man  or  woman  to  sup- 
port a  family  on  the  proceeds  of  a  little  bit  of  land ;  it  shows 
how  in  truth,  as  the  old  Book  prophesied,  the  earth  brings 
forth  abundantly  after  its  kind  to  satisfy  the  desire  of  every 
living  thing.  It  is  not  necessary  to  bury  oneself  in  the 
country,  nor,  with  the  new  facilities  of  transportation,  need 
we,  unless  we  wish  to,  pay  the  extravagant  rents  and 
enormous  cost  of  living  in  the  city.  A  little  bit  of  land 
near  the  town  or  the  city  can  be  rented  or  bought  on 
easy  terms ;  and  merchandising  will  bring  one  to  the  city 
often  enough.  Neither  is  hard  labor  needed;  but  it  is  to 
work  alone  that  the  earth  yields  her  increase,  and  if,  although 
unskilled,  we  would  succeed  in  gardening,  we  must  attend 
constantly  and  intelligently  to  the  home  acres. 

Every  chapter  of  this  book  has  been  revised  by  a  specialist, 


vi  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

and  the  authors  wish  to  express  their  appreciation  of  the  aid 
given  them,  particularly  by  Mr.  E.  H.  Moore,  Arboricul- 
turist in  the  Brooklyn  Department  of  Parks ;  Mr.  Colling- 
wood  of  the  Rural  New  Yorker  and  Mr.  George  T.  Powell ; 
and  to  thank  Mrs.  Mabel  Osgood  Wright,  and  also  Mr. 
Joseph  Morwitz,  for  many  valuable  suggestions;  also  all 
those  from  whom  we  have  quoted  directly  or  in  substance. 

We  have  endeavored  in  the  text  to  give  full  acknowledg- 
ment to  all,  but  in  some  cases  it  has  been  impossible  to  credit 
to  the  originator  every  paragraph  or  thought,  since  these 
have  been  selected  and  placed  as  needed,  believing  that  all 
true  teachers  and  gardeners  are  more  anxious  to  have  their 
message  sent  than  to  be  seen  delivering  it. 

In  truth,  teaching  is  but  another  department  of  gardening. 

Practical  points  and  criticisms  from  practical  men  and 
women,  especially  from  those  experiences  in  trying  to  get  to 
the  land,  will  be  welcomed  by  the  authors.  Address  in  care 
of  the  publishers. 

The  Report  of  the  Country  Life  Commission,  with  Special 
Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  is  especially 
important  as  showing  the  connection  of  Intensive  Cultiva- 
tion with  Thrift  for  war  time. 

It  tells  us  that : 

"The  handicaps  (on  getting  out  of  town)  that  we  now 
have  specially  in  mind  may  be  stated  under  four  heads : 
Speculative  holding  of  lands;  monopolistic  control  of 
streams;  wastage  and  monopolistic  control  of  forests;  re- 
straint of  trade. 

"Certain  landowners  procure  large  areas  of  agricultural 
land  in  the  most  available  location,  sometimes  by  question- 
able methods,  and  hold  it  for  speculative  purposes.  This 
not  only  withdraws  the  land  itself  from  settlement,  but  in 


FOREWORD  vii 

many  cases  prevents  the  development  of  an  agricultural 
community.  The  smaller  landowners  are  isolated  and  un- 
able to  establish  their  necessary  institutions  or  to  reach  the 
market.  The  holding  of  large  areas  by  one  party  tends  to 
develop  a  system  of  tenantry  and  absentee  farming.  The 
whole  development  may  be  in  the  direction  of  social  and 
economic  ineffectiveness. 

"A  similar  problem  arises  in  the  utilization  of  swamp  lands. 
According  to  the  reports  of  the  Geological  Survey,  there  are 
more  than  75,000,000  acres  of  swamp  land  in  this  country, 
the  greater  part  of  which  are  capable  of  reclamation  at  prob- 
ably a  nominal  cost  as  compared  to  their  value.  It  is  im- 
portant to  the  development  of  the  best  type  of  country  life 
that  the  reclamation  proceed  under  conditions  insuring  sub- 
division into  small  farms  and  settlement  by  men  who  would 
both  own  them  and  till  them. 

"Some  of  these  lands  are  near  the  centers  of  population. 
They  become  a  menace  to  health,  and  they  often  prevent  the 
development  of  good  social  conditions  in  very  large  areas. 
As  a  rule  they  are  extremely  fertile.  They  are  capable  of 
sustaining  an  agricultural  population  numbering  many  mil- 
lions, and  the  conditions  under  which  these  millions  must 
live  are  a  matter  of  national  concern.  The  Federal  Govern- 
ment should  act  to  the  fullest  extent  of  its  constitutional 
powers  in  the  reclamation  of  these  lands  under  proper  safe- 
guards against  speculative  holding  and  landlordism. 

"The  rivers  are  valuable  to  the  farmers  as  drainage  lines, 
as  irrigation  supply,  as  carriers  and  equalizers  of  transporta- 
tion rates,  as  a  readily  available  power  resource,  and  for  rais- 
ing food  fish.  The  wise  development  of  these  and  other  uses 
is  important  to  both  agricultural  and  other  interests ;  their 
protection  from  monopoly  is  one  of  the  first  responsibilities 


viii  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

of  government.  The  streams  belong  to  the  people;  under 
a  proper  system  of  development  their  resources  would  remain 
an  estate  of  all  the  people,  and  become  available  as  needed. 

"River  transportation  is  not  usually  antagonistic  to  rail- 
way interests.  Population  and  production  are  increasing 
rapidly,  with  corresponding  increase  in  the  demands  made 
on  transportation  facilities.  It  may  be  reasonably  expected 
that  the  river  will  eventually  carry  a  large  part  of  the  freight 
that  does  not  require  prompt  delivery,  while  the  railway 
will  carry  that  requiring  expedition.  This  is  already  fore- 
seen by  leading  railway  men;  and  its  importance  to  the 
farmer  is  such  that  he  should  encourage  and  aid,  by  every 
means  in  his  power,  the  large  use  of  the  rivers.  The  coun- 
try will  produce  enough  business  to  tax  both  streams  and 
railroads  to  their  utmost. 

"In  many  regions  the  streams  afford  facilities  for  power, 
which,  since  the  inauguration  of  electrical  transmission,  is 
available  for  local  rail  lines  and  offers  the  best  solution  of 
local  transportation  problems.  In  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try local  and  interurban  lines  are  providing  transportation 
to  farm  areas,  thereby  increasing  facilities  for  moving  crops 
and  adding  to  the  profit  and  convenience  of  farm  life.  How- 
ever, there  seems  to  be  a  very  general  lack  of  appreciation 
of  the  possibilities  of  this  water-power  resource  as  governing 
transportation  costs. 

"The  streams  may  be  also  used  as  small  water  power  on 
thousands  of  farms.  This  is  particularly  true  of  small 
streams.  Much  of  the  labor  about  the  house  and  barn  can 
be  performed  by  transmission  of  power  from  small  water 
wheels  running  on  the  farms  themselves  or  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. This  power  could  be  used  for  electric  lighting  and 
for  small  manufacture.  It  is  more  important  that  small 


FOREWORD  ix 

power  be  developed  on  the  farms  of  the  United  States  than 
that  we  harness  Niagara. 

"Unfortunately,  the  tendency  of  the  present  laws  is  to 
encourage  the  acquisition  of  these  resources  on  easy  terms, 
or  on  their  own  terms,  by  the  first  applicants,  and  the 
power  of  the  streams  is  rapidly  being  acquired  under  condi- 
tions that  lead  to  the  concentration  of  ownership  in  the  hands 
of  the  monopolies.  This  constitutes  a  real  and  immediate 
danger,  not  to  the  country-life  interests  alone,  but  to  the 
entire  nation,  and  it  is  time  that  the  whole  people  become 
aroused  to  it. 

"The  forests  have  been  exploited  for  private  gain  not 
only  until  the  timber  has  been  seriously  reduced,  but  until 
streams  have  been  ruined  for  navigation,  power,  irrigation, 
and  common  water  supplies,  and  whole  regions  have  been 
exposed  to  floods  and  disastrous  soil  erosion.  Probably 
there  has  never  occurred  a  more  reckless  destruction  of 
property  that  of  right  should  belong  to  all  the  people. 

"The  wood-lot  property  of  the  country  needs  to  be  saved 
and  increased.  Wood-lot  yield  is  one  of  the  most  important 
crops  of  the  farms,  and  is  of  great  value  to  the  public  in 
controlling  streams,  saving  the  run-off,  checking  winds,  and 
adding  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  region.  [Taken  up  in  a 
special  chapter  of  this  book.] 

"In  many  regions  where  poor  and  hilly  lands  prevail,  the 
town  or  county  could  well  afford  to  purchase  forest  land, 
expecting  thereby  to  add  to  the  value  of  the  property  and 
to  make  the  forests  a  source  of  revenue.  Such  communal 
forests  in  Europe  yield  revenue  to  the  cities  and  towns  by 
which  they  are  owned  and  managed." 

These  revenues  would  furnish  good  roads  even  in  the 
poorest  and  most  sparsely  settled  districts. 


x  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

There  are  a  number  of  other  reasons  why  people  do  not 
like  to  live  outside  of  cities  —  or  do  not  succeed  in  farm 
work.  There  is  the  difficulty  of  finding  help.  This,  how- 
ever, rejoices  the  heart  of  the  modern  sociologist.  Consider 
—  we  first  teach  our  children  independence  and  train  them  for 
everything  but  farm  help  or  household  services.  Then  we 
degrade  the  "help"  below  a  mill  "hand"  so  that  people  will 
not  even  sit  at  table  with  them  at  an  hotel.  Next  we  fix 
a  theory  of  conduct  for  them  that  keeps  them  constantly 
under  orders  and  pay  them  wages  that  make  it  hardly  pos- 
sible for  them  to  rise  above  the  station  to  which  we  have 
appointed  them. 

Finally,  when  we  move  away  from  the  haunts  of  men  out 
to  Sandtown-by-the-Puddle  we  blame  them  that  they  do  not 
rush  to  join  us.  Most  of  them  would  be  happier  in  penal 
servitude  than  in  the  country.  The  work  is  as  hard  and  re- 
quires as  much  skill  as  a  mechanic's  work,  besides  personal 
qualities  that  are  demanded  of  no  mechanic,  and  commands 
half  its  wages. 

Those  who,  like  Henry  Ford,  can  afford  to  pay  mechanics' 
wages  for  help  can  get  all  they  want. 

Many  people  go  to  the  country  without  plan,  preparation, 
or  vocation,  to  make  a  living.  They  usually  start  to  build 
a  bungalow  but  seldom  get  further  than  the  bungle.  Don't 
build  anything  without  plan.  Get  a  comfortable  house 
proof  against  cold  and  heat  as  soon  as  possible  and,  above 
all,  well  ventilated.  At  present  the  air  hi  the  country  is 
good,  because  the  farmers  shut  all  the  bad  air  up  in  their 
bedrooms. 

They  say 

"  The  farmer  works  from  sun  to  sun 
For  the  summer's  work  is  never  done." 


FOREWORD  xi 

We  might  add,  it's  never  even  half  done  —  naturally.  A 
donkey  engine  can  work  like  that,  but  then  it  hasn't  any 
brains.  No  man  can  work  from  sun  to  sun  all  summer  and 
think  at  all  or  be  good  for  anything  at  the  end  of  it. 

Above  all  things  don't  work  long  hours,  even  in  learning, 
with  the  idea  of  saving  that  way.  All  up-to-date  employers 
are  agreed  that  an  eight-hour  day  produces  more  and  better 
results  than  a  ten-hour  day  and  that  a  twelve-hour  day  brings 
sheriffs  and  suicides  instead  of  profits. 

That's  just  as  true  of  the  individual  worker  as  it  is  of  the 
factory  "hand."  Yet  most  men  and  a  few  women  proudly 
say  that  they  "work  like  a  horse"  (it's  usually  not  true). 
They  don't ;  a  horse  won't  work  and  can't  work  over  eight 
hours  a  day  steadily.  Neither  can  you :  you  may  keep 
buzzing  around  much  longer  —  but  the  best  work  requires 
the  best  conditions  and  the  best  hours.  You  think,  or  you 
flatter  yourself  that  you  think,  that  it  is  necessary;  but 
nothing  is  necessary  that  is  stupid  and  wrong.  It  is  hardly 
too  much  to  say  that  when  we  are  tired  out  or  ill  either  we 
have  been  doing  the  wrong  thing  or  doing  it  wrong. 

There  is  besides,  as  an  anti-rusticant,  railroad  discrimina- 
tion in  favor  of  long  hauls,  but  the  main  reason  that  the  small 
farms  of  the  Eastern  Coast  are  less  settled  than  those  farther 
west  is  the  great  difficulty  in  getting  farm  loans  or  loans  on 
farm  buildings.  New  York  companies  and  others  hi  the 
great  cities  will  loan  on  farms  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  but 
even  the  otherwise  excellent  eastern  Building  Loan  Asso- 
ciations usually  restrict  themselves  to  places  within  twenty- 
five  miles  of  a  city.  The  Jewish  Agricultural  and  Industrial 
Aid  Society  will  help  approved  Jewish  farmers  to  buy  and 
build :  and  there  is  a  Federal  Land  Bank  in  Springfield, 
Mass.,  which  lends  to  some  Fanners'  Associations,  of  which 


xii  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

some  four  thousand  are  already  formed.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  State  Land  Bank  of  New  York  City  may  improve  the 
situation  in  New  York  for  Farmers'  Organizations,  but 
"  generally  nearly  all  available  funds  of  the  local  banks  seem 
to  be  drawn  off  for  investments  in  Wall  Street." 

However,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  this  difficulty  is 
reflected  in  the  lower  prices  of  eastern  Land. 

One  more  thing  that  keeps  many  people  from  the  country 
and  drives  some  people  back  to  the  city  is  the  mosquito  (of 
course  there  are  mosquitoes  in  town,  but  we  are  not  out  as 
much,  so  we  notice  them  less).  Mosquitoes  breed  or  rather 
we  breed  them,  in  still  water  in  which  there  are  no  fish,  in 
pools,  hollows  in  trees,  wells,  etc.,  and  above  all  hi  old  tin 
cans.  They  can  no  more  breed  without  water  than  sharks 
could. 

Mosquitoes  do  not  breed  in  grass,  but  rank  growths  of 
weeds  or  grass  may  conceal  small  breeding  puddles,  and 
form  a  favorite  nursery  for  Mamma  Skeet.  A  teacupful 
of  water  standing  ten  days  is  enough  for  250  wrigglers; 
their  needs  are  modest. 

Different  species  of  mosquitoes  have  as  well-defined  hab- 
its as  other  birds  and  are  classified  as  follows :  Domestic, 
Migratory,  and  Woodland. 

The  common  domestic  or  pet  species  breed  in  fresh  water, 
usually  in  the  house  yard,  fly  comparatively  short  distances, 
and  habitually  enter  houses.  They  winter  in  cellars,  barns, 
and  outhouses.  Some  of  them  are  conveyors  of  malaria. 

The  Migratory  Species  breed  on  the  salt  marshes,  fly  long 
distances,  do  not  habitually  enter  houses,  and  are  not  carriers 
of  diseases  so  far  as  known. 

Certain  varieties  of  Woodland  Mosquitoes  breed  only  in 
woodland  pools,  appearing  in  the  early  spring,  and  travel  a 


FOREWORD  xiii 

greater  distance  than  the  domestic  species.  They  are  not 
usually  troublesome  indoors. 

It  has  been  proved  that  malaria  is  transmitted  only  by 
certain  species  of  Anopheles,  one  of  which  is  the  domestic 
mosquito.  Eliminate  this  one  species  of  mosquito  and  the 
disease  will  disappear  as  a  direct  consequence.  So  if  you 
hear  that  pretty  little  song  in  the  house,  don't  swear,  thank 
the  Lord  that  effects  always  follow  causes.  You  need  never 
be  without  a  bite  in  the  house  if  you  have  a  nice  cesspool 
handy  for  Sis  Mosquito,  for  each  one  will  have  a  first-class 
feed  with  you  every  second  or  third  day. 

They  are  needless  and  dangerous  pests  or  pets.  Their 
propagation  can  be  prevented  by  draining  or  filling  wet 
areas,  by  emptying  or  screening  water  receptacles,  and  by 
spraying  with  oil  where  better  measures  are  not  available. 
Oil  should  be  sprinkled  in  any  cesspools,  sewers,  and  catch 
basins,  rain  barrels,  water  troughs,  roof  gutters,  marshes, 
swamps,  and  puddles  that  cannot  be  done  away  with.  All 
ponds  and  large  bodies  of  water  should  have  clean  sharp 
edges,  because  in  shallow,  grassy  edges  larvae  of  the  malarial 
species  are  commonly  found.  Large  ponds  with  clean  edges, 
inhabited  by  fish  or  predatory  insects,  are  safe ;  smaller  ponds, 
if  wind  swept,  and  all  ponds  in  the  "  ripple  area  "  are  safe.  All 
rain  pools,  stagnant  gutters,  overgrown  edges  of  large  ponds, 
and  all  receptacles  holding  water  not  constantly  renewed,  are 
dangerous.  You  raise  most  of  your  own  mosquitoes. 

Now  a  word  specially  concerning  this  revised  edition. 

The  farm  papers  are  supported  mainly  by  men  with  large 
acreage,  it  is  the  rise  in  value  of  these  acres  more  than  the 
rise  in  farm  products  that  has  pulled  the  land-owning  farmers 
out  of  the  hole  that  they  were  in  up  to  about  the  year  1900. 
Farmers'  knowledge,  liking,  and  equipment  was  for  big 


xiv  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

fields,  half  cultivated,  and  at  first  they  did  not  like  to  hear 
that  they  had  been  wasting  so  much  of  the  labor  that  had 
bent  their  backs.  Nor  did  they  want  to  hear  that  it  would 
have  been  far  more  profitable  to  them  to  have  cultivated  a 
few  acres  and  left  the  goats  and  hogs  or  sheep  to  attend  to 
the  rest  as  wild  land  until  the  long-expected  settlers  came 
along  to  buy  the  land  at  dreamland  prices. 

Consequently,  all  the  faults  in  the  book  there  were,  and 
some  more  besides,  have  been  picked  out  by  these  critics.  It 
is  surprising  as  well  as  a  notable  compliment  to  the  agricul- 
tural experts  who  revised  the  first  edition  that,  with  one  ex- 
ception, no  material  error  or  omission  has  been  pointed  out. 

The  more  so  because  there  is  absolutely  no  limit  to  the 
advances  in  methods  and  results  in  doing  things,  and  in 
growing  things,  all  born  of  intelligent  toil.  Your  suggestions 
may  help  the  world  to  better  and  bigger  things.  If  you  will 
listen  at  the  'phone  you  may  sometime  hear  a  conversation 
like  this : 

"Hello,  this  is  Mrs.  Wise,  send  me  two  strawberries, 
please."  "You'd  better  take  three,  Madam,  I've  none 
larger  than  peaches  to-day."  "All  right;  good-bye." 

You  may  sometime  see  that  kind  of  strawberry  in  New 
Jersey  at  Kevitt's  Athenia,  or  Henry  Joralamon's,  or  in 
the  berry  known  by  various  names,  such  as  Giant  and  dif- 
ferent Joe's.  But  lots  of  people  have  failed  in  their  war 
garden  work  even  on  common  things;  lots  more  ought  to 
have  failed  but  haven't  —  yet.  Years  ago,  we,  the  book  and 
its  helpers,  started  the  forward-to-the-land  movement  which 
has  resulted  in  probably  two  million  extra  garden  patches 
this  war  year.  I  have  had  carloads  of  letters,  at  least  hand 
carloads,  about  the  book,  but  not  one  worker  who  even 
tried  to  follow  its  counsels  has  reported  failure. 


FOREWORD  xv 

So  don't  let  us  have  a  wail  from  you  because  your  "  garden 
stuff  never  comes  up."  Of  course  it  doesn't ;  you  have  to 
bring  it  up,  just  like  a  baby.  That's  what  I've  been  crying 
for  long  years  in  the  wilderness  ever  since  the  first  edition 
of  this  book.  The  Three  Acres  may  be  bought  on  credit 
but  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  Liberty  and  crops.  To 
raise  good  crops  costs  time  and  attention  and  sweat  of  body 
and  of  brains. 

Here  is  a  chunk  of  wisdom  out  of  the  excellent  Garden 
Primer  (which  you  can  get  free  by  asking  me  for  it) : 

"One  hour  a  day  spent  in  a  garden  ten  yards  long  by 
seven  wide  will  supply  vegetables  enough  for  a  family  of 
six" ;  but  the  value  of  this  remark  lies  in  the  application  of 
it.  If  you  figure  a  bit  on  that  you  will  find  that  ten  minutes 
a  day  will  provide  enough  for  one  person,  but  six  hours  once 
a  week  won't  do.  Six  hours  a  day  will  bring  up  a  baby; 
but  two  days  a  week  is  criminal  neglect  for  the  other  five 
days.  If  you  once  let  the  weeds  get  a  good  start,  say  after 
a  rain,  they  will  make  even  the  angels  swear.  It's  regular 
attention  that  the  baby  and  the  garden  and  your  education 
and  your  best  girl  will  require. 

If  you  want  more  minute  instructions  about  how  to  grow 
each  vegetable,  put  in  words  that  anybody  can  understand 
without  getting  a  headache  or  a  dictionary,  look  up  "The 
Garden  Yard"  by  the  Author.  It  is  in  nearly  all  libraries 
now,  and  it  is  the  only  book  that  makes  perfectly  plain  every- 
thing that  a  plain  man  needs  to  know  about  growing  plain 
things. 

So  there  is  little  to  add  in  this  new  edition  except  to  rein- 
force what  was  not  strong  enough.  In  the  present  jumping 
market  to  revise  the  prices  quoted  would  be  absurd,  but  it 
may  be  noted  that,  as  in  the  prices  of  flowers,  the  minimum 


xvi  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

prices  are  still  about  correct,  but  the  maximum  prices  have 
jumped  almost  out  of  sight.  Every  year  there  are  more 
and  more  very  wealthy  people  who  will  pay  nearly  any 
price  for  the  very  best.  The  world  seems  to  be  dividing  into 
those  who  have  to  count  their  pennies  and  those  who  couldn't 
count  their  thousands.  Of  course,  where  war  has  prohibited 
the  importation  of  the  strong  bulbs  and  roots  needed  for 
forcing  flowers,  the  prices  are  about  what  any  one  who  has 
any  chooses  to  ask.  Monopoly  can  always  get  its  own  price. 

This  New  Edition  does  not  attempt  to  bring  prices  quoted 
up  to  date.  In  these  times  not  even  a  stock  exchange  tele- 
graph ticker  can  do  that.  Prices  of  goods  in  general  have 
advanced  at  least  80  per  cent.  By  the  day  that  this  book  is 
off  the  press  they  may  have  decreased,  or  more  likely  ad- 
vanced some  more.  The  next  day  they  may  slump.  Prices 
of  labor  advance  more  slowly  and  do  not  slump  so  fast. 
Wages  of  men  gardeners  have  risen  perhaps  50  per  cent  in  the 
last  ten  years,  but  women  and  children  have  learned  to  do 
much  of  the  work.  They  do  the  work  cheaper  because 
most  of  them  have  some  one  on  whom  they  can  partly  depend 
for  support. 

Similarly,  when  an  example  of  total  product  given  in  the 
earlier  edition  is  still  typical  and  has  stood  investigation,  it 
is  not  discarded  in  favor  of  a  more  modern  instance. 

It  would  have  been  easy  to  have  revised  all  the  figures, 
but  of  little  advantage  to  our  readers.  For  example,  it  is 
encouraging  to  the  citizen  to  know  that  the  average  wheat 

'There  is  a  chance  for  big  money  growing  those  vigorous  stocks  at 
home.  Many  a  woman  could  learn  to  do  it  in  her  room.  Don't 
try  to  sell  the  bulbs,  grow  the  lilies  and  sell  those ;  a  few  at  ten  dol- 
lars per  dozen  will  go  a  great  way.  When  you  know  all  about  it, 
then  go  to  the  country  to  do  it  on  a  commercial  scale.  Wait  till  you 
have  learned :  it  won't  take  all  your  time. 


FOREWORD  xvii 

yield  per  acre  has  increased  more  than  two  bushels  since  the 
first  edition  of  this  book,  but  it  would  not  help  the  garden 
maker.  The  increase  of  possible  products  tends  to  counter- 
balance the  increased  cost  of  labor.  So  only  the  musty 
parts  have  been  cut  out  of  the  book,  which  is  more  needed 
now  than  ever. 


CHAPTER  I 

MAKING    A   LIVING WHEKE    AND    HOW 

The  necessity  of  teaching  better  methods  in  agriculture  to  relieve 
the  problems  of  our  day.  The  drift  toward  cities.  Natural  con- 
ditions. 

The  possibilities  of  an  acre  —  in  potatoes.  Large  acreages  a 
mistake.  Labor  and  expense  of  cultivating  large  areas.  Culti- 
vation contrasted  with  Bonanza  farms. 

Small  acreage  farms  in  Japan,  Denmark,  etc.,  and  what  they 
produce.  Small  acreage  in  school  gardens  and  vacant  lots.  Gentle- 
men farmers.  City  and  country  coming  together. 

CHAPTER  II 

PRESENT    CONDITIONS 

America  an  agricultural  country  up  to  the  Civil  War.  Attracted 
to  the  West  by  Government  lands.  South  the  center  of  slave 
agriculture.  Cheap  land  kept  up  wages.  War  and  hard  times  — 
changed  conditions.  South  crushed  —  Central  West  growing. 
Railways  —  forcing  people  from  the  land  to  the  cities  —  aided  by 
competition  of  western  land.  Climax  now ;  must  find  remedy  for 
alienation. 

Where  land  is  idle  —  in  the  East.  Result  of  railroad  discrimina- 
tion shown  in  values.  First  step  is  railroad  control.  Cause  of 
relegation,  railroad  rates.  Affects  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  Gross 
inequalities  in  freight  charges;  Mississippi  Valley  better.  In- 
creasing market  in  South.  These  furnish  opportunity  of  getting 
people  to  land.  New  fields. 

CHAPTER  III 

HOW   TO    BUY   THE    FARM 

Principles.  Points.  Low  and  high-priced  land.  Conserva- 
tive investment.  Suburban  lands.  Real  estate  agents  aid  —  un- 
explored opportunities. 

zfz 


xx  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

VACANT   CITT   LOT   CULTIVATION 

Lessons  for  the  intensive  cultivator  —  of  poor  land.  The  effect 
upon  physical,  mental,  and  moral  health  —  illustrated.  A  farm 
educator  —  in  voluntary  cooperation.  In  Europe.  School  gardens. 
Patriotic  gardens.  Preparing  them.  Wonderful  production. 
Your  opportunity. 

CHAPTER  V 

RESULTS    TO    BE    EXPECTED 

Overproduction  not  to  be  feared.  Dr.  Engel's  "law"  in  scien- 
tific farming.  Fallacy  of  this.  The  information  needed  as  to 
prospects.  Eastern  or  western  land.  The  area  required.  A  be- 
ginner's experience.  Necessity  of  intelligence  and  personal  appli- 
cation. How  to  use  a  small  area.  The  poet's  "little  farm." 
Classical  examples.  Price  changes  since  the  first  editions  of 
"Three  Acres."  The  returns  from  small  acreages.  In  the  United 
States  —  in  Scotland.  Schoolroom  boxes.  A  new  winter  plan. 
A  garden  on  a  tray.  Standards  of  yields  needed. 

CHAPTER  VI 

WHAT    AN    ACRE    MAY    PRODUCE 

Truck  —  the  most  advanced  farming  experience.  Time  required 
to  work  an  acre.  Product  of  it.  U.  S.  instances  in  various  places. 
Average  crops.  Product  of  an  acre  in  specialties.  Good  products 
compared  with  averages.  A  living  and  more. 

CHAPTER  VII 

SOME    METHODS 

Safety  in  diversified  crops.  When  to  plant.  Times  for  selling. 
Realizing  cash.  Cultivation  in  rows.  Companion  crop  plan. 
Cultivation  raises  price  of  your  land.  Profits.  Produce  in  Europe. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    KITCHEN    GARDEN 

For  domestic  use.  Location:  treatment.  Begin  in  fall.  Size 
and  arrangement.  Fruit.  Reasonable  results.  Cost  and  profit. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxi 

CHAPTER  IX 

TOOLS   AND    EQUIPMENT 

Implements  needed  and  cost.  How  to  care  for  them.  Books  as 
a  part  of  the  outfit.  Bucolic  advice  inefficient.  Must  get  our  own 
experience.  Specializing.  Seed.  Preparation  of  land.  Thorough- 
ness. 

CHAPTER  X 

ADVANTAGES   FROM   CAPITAL 

Small  capital  can  compete  with  large.  Manure.  Commercial 
fertilizers.  We  waste  and  then  buy.  Cost  —  and  increase  of  re- 
turns. Soil  inoculation.  Irrigation.  Use  of  water  abroad  —  pros- 
pects for  the  United  States.  Sewage  utilization  better  than  irriga- 
tion. Cultivation  is  irrigation. 

"The  American  desert."  Dry  farming  and  its  new  crops. 
Spraying. 

How  much  money  is  necessary.  Tropics  not  so  good  a  field  as 
'home.  Facilities  here.  Available  lands  attracted  first  develop- 
ment. The  markets. 

CHAPTER  XI 

HOTBEDS   AND    GREENHOUSES 

An  early  start.  How  to  make  simple  hotbeds.  An  old-fashioned 
way.  Artificial  heat.  Use  of  frames.  Instances  of  production  — 
returns.  The  best  greenhouse  —  a  substitute.  Estimated  cost. 
Methods  of  heating. 

CHAPTER  XII 

OTHER    USES    OP   LAND 

Poultry  and  its  difficulties  as  a  business  —  the  reason.  Profit- 
able on  a  small  scale.  Ducks  —  growing  in  favor  —  don't  need  a 
pond.  Belgian  hares  —  fluctuation  of  the  business.  Pigeons.  Bee- 
keeping and  the  returns.  Small  capital  required.  Yield.  Xabor 
and  area  required.  Method  —  results  —  how  to  start. 

Mushrooms  in  America.  Better  done  in  Europe.  Where  grown. 
Causes  of  failure.  A  little  land  for  pleasure. 


xxii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 

FRUITS 

Specializing  or  diversifying.  Money  in  the  best.  Apples,  con- 
ditions. Peaches,  grapes,  plums,  etc.  Yield  of  cherries,  currants, 
etc.  Strawberries.  Animal  free  lunchers.  Wild  berries.  Nuts. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

FLO  WEBS 

Popular  flowers:  glass.  The  capital  needed.  Shipping. 
Chances  of  success.  A  woman's  violet  farm  —  its  methods  — 
enemies.  Chrysanthemums.  Poppies.  Street  sales  of  flowers; 
common  flowers. 

Orchids.    Ferns.     Shrubs,  etc.    Bulbs.    The  prospects. 

CHAPTER  XV 

DRUG    PLANTS 

Gathering  wild  drugs.  Scarcity  of  some.  Ginseng.  Difficulties 
of  growing  these  plants.  Preparing  them  for  market  —  roots, 
leaves,  flowers.  Selling.  Demand  and  variable  prices  —  for  vari- 
ous sorts.  New  branches.  Edible  weeds. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

NOVEL   LIVE    STOCK 

Frog  culture  —  product  and  value.  Carp  —  ease  of  raising. 
Bass ;  how  raised.  Pheasants  —  bred  like  poultry.  Home  birds. 
Table-snails  —  treatment.  Silkworms  —  methods. 

Dogs.  Cats  a  better  venture.  Wild  fauna  —  for  our  own  eat- 
ing. Hunting  skins.  Raising  "wild"  animals.  Foxes,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

WHERE    TO    GO 

Near  the  market  —  for  intensive  cultivation.  Swamps  or  worn- 
out  farms  profitable.  Opportunities  in  "York  State"  —  descrip- 
tions —  prices.  Wages  there.  Long  Island  —  opening  up  for 
cultivation  —  character.  Openings  in  New  Jersey  —  abundance. 
Soils  —  uses.  Cheap  land.  Exceptional  transportation  facili- 
ties. In  Delaware:  for  fruit.  Land  coming  into  market. 
Soils  —  description  —  wages.  Arresting  fruit  pickers.  Fauna. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxiii 

In  Maryland :  Bureaus  of  Immigration.  Varied  types  of  land  — 
productivity.  Prices  at  canneries.  Tobacco  land.  Virginia  — 
changed  aspect.  Attractions  to  acre  cultivators,  fertile  soil. 
Transportation.  Produce  —  instances.  New  England  —  some  of 
the  cheapest  lands.  Availability. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CLEARING   THE   LAND 

The  ax.  Don't  destroy  recklessly.  Shade.  Stump  extracting. 
How  it  has  been  done.  Good  management.  Expense  saving. 
Product.  Hemp  as  a  weed  extirpator.  The  man  with  the  wheel 
hoe.  Goats  also. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

HOW   TO   BUILD 

Start  cheaply.  Tents  —  shacks  —  cost.  A  log  house  —  de- 
tails. The  American  bungalow  —  description  and  cost.  Ad- 
vantages. A  finer  house  —  at  a  low  price  —  details.  Ready- 
made  houses. 

CHAPTER  XX 

BACK  TO   THE    LAND 

The  landless  man.  Corporate  aid  —  still  new  to  the  farmer. 
A  change  coming.  To  supply  small  farms  on  a  large  scale.  Plan 
and  prospects.  Advantages.  The  present  obstacles  to  getting 
farms.  Necessity  of  keeping  families  in  the  country.  Buying 
farm  tracts  to  sell  at  retail.  Texas  plan. 

CHAPTER  XXI 

COMING   PROFESSION    FOR   BOYS 

Authorities.  Country  life  for  children.  The  natural  bent.  A 
boy's  own  farm,  his  instruction.  Growing  facilities.  Opportuni- 
ties, as  teachers  and  experts.  Their  influence.  Rewards  of  pre- 
eminent excellence.  "Murray's  fools."  The  needs  of  the  farmer. 

Discoveries  and  then-  opportunities  —  examples.  Experimen- 
tation. Fancy  potatoes  —  for  fancy  growers  in  England.  Value 
of  fine  seed  —  of  fine  education  in  farming.  A  clergyman's  refuge 


xxiv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

in  fanning  —  results.    The  rewards  of  labor  and  thought  put  into 
land. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

THE    WOOD   LOT 

Possible  income  from  improving.  Preserving  its  character. 
Setting  out  trees.  Value  as  pasture  —  shade.  Fire ;  burning  leaves. 
State  nurseries.  Taxation  of  forests. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

SOME    PRACTICAL    EXPERIMENTS 

Agricultural  Department  bulletins  —  get  knowledge.  The 
mysteries  of  potatoes.  Roof  gardens.  Mint.  Raising  seeds. 
Warm  bath  stimulation.  Overhead  irrigation.  The  coming  sub- 
stitute for  the  horse. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

SOME    EXPERIMENTAL   FOODS 

The  law  of  necessity.  Novel  menus.  Substitutes  for  "garden 
sass."  To  lower  cost  of  living.  Soy  beans  —  vegetable  milk. 
Fresh  salads.  Wild  food  at  home.  Increasing  need  of  food.  Select- 
ing new  varieties  —  adaptations  to  climate. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

DRIED   TRUCK 

Food  conservation.  Revival  of  old  ways.  New  methods  of 
canning.  Home  dried  vegetables  and  fruits  —  the  how  and  why. 
Blanching,  etc.  Frozen  potatoes.  Saving  and  sales.  Tank  ice. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

HOME    COLD    PACK    CANNING 

War  economy.  The  easiest  way.  Its  use.  No  "boughten" 
outfit  needed.  Cheap  containers. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

RETAIL   COOPERATION 

Farmers  ahead.  Cooperation  in  selling  in  U.  S.  Delivering 
milk.  The  New  Orleans  stores.  Plan  and  scope.  A  proved 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxv 

success.     Good  business  chances  waiting  for  you.     Distribution 
neglected  —  the  remedy. 

To  promote  wholesale  return  to  the  land  —  on  a  business  basis. 
Project  of  the  plan.  For  invalids. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

SUMMER   COLONIES   FOB   CITY    PEOPLE 

Our  Department  of  Education's  report  on  "Arbor  Gardens." 
Private  enterprise.  Necessity  the  mother  of  institutions.  Berlin 
and  our  cities.  Collective  action.  Vast  extent  of  the  Bower 
plots.  Results.  Alleviation  of  German  poverty.  Forest  schools. 
England's  advance  to  the  land  —  a  war  fruit.  The  Spirit  in  the 
Garden. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  Simple  Mansion  at  Free  Acres Frontispiece 

OPPOSITE   PAGE 

A  Real  (-estate)  Argument 20 

These  Kiddies  Have  to  Go  Shares 44 

The  Wheel-hoe  in  Action 190 

A  Roof  Garden  —  Strawberries 226 

"  Overhead  Irrigation  "  by  Pipes 230 

The  Smallest  Farm  Tractor 231 

A  Drying-frame 244 


xxvii 


THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

CHAPTER  I 

MAKING  A  LIVING  —  WHERE  AND  HOW 

BY  thought  and  courage,  we  can  help  ourselves  to  own 
a  home,  surrounded  by  acres  of  fruit  and  vegetables,  flowers 
and  poultry,  and  learn  the  best  methods  so  as  to  insure 
success. 

In  olden  times  any  one  could  "farm,"  but  it  is  necessary 
to-day  to  teach  people  to  obtain  a  livelihood  directly  from 
the  earth.  Scientific  methods  of  agriculture  have  revealed 
possibilities  in  the  soil  that  make  farming  the  most  fascinat- 
ing occupation  known  to  man.  People  in  every  city  are 
longing  for  the  freedom  of  country  life,  yet  hesitate  to  enter 
into  its  liberty  because  no  one  points  the  way. 

Most  sociologists  are  agreed  that  the  great  problem  of  our 
day  is  to  stop  the  drift  of  population  toward  the  cities. 
Seeing  the  overcrowding,  the  want  and  misery  of  our  great 
towns,  the  philanthropist  chimes  in  with  "Get  the  people 
to  the  country,  that  is  the  need." 

But  there  is  no  such  need.  Man  is  a  social  animal,  he 
naturally  goes  in  flocks,  he  earns  more  and  learns  more  in 
crowds.  To  transport  him  to  the  country,  even  if  he  would 
stay,  which  happily  he  won't,  would  be  to  doctor  a  symptom. 
As  in  typhoid,  what  is  needed  is  not  to  suppress  the  fever, 
that  is  easy,  but  to  remove  the  cause  of  it. 
B  1 


2  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

It  is  not  the  growth  of  the  cities  that  we  want  to  check, 
but  the  needless  want  and  misery  in  the  cities,  and  this  can 
be  done  by  restoring  the  natural  condition  of  living,  and 
among  other  things,  by  showing  that  it  is  easier  and  making 
it  more  attractive  to  live  in  comfort  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city  as  producers,  than  in  the  slums  as  paupers. 

We  know  already  that  the  natural  and  healthy  life  is,  that 
in  the  sweat  of  our  faces  we  should  eat  bread.  We  observe 
that  everything  we  eat  or  use  or  make  comes  from  the  earth 
by  labor;  but  no  one  knows  how  abundantly  the  Mother 
can  supply  her  children.  It  is  well  said  that  no  man  yet 
knows  the  capacity  of  a  square  yard  of  earth. 

The  farmer  thinks  that  he  has  done  well  if  he  gets  a  hun- 
;  dred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes  from  an 
1  acre ;  he  does  not  know  that  others  have  gotten  1284  bushels.1 

Let  us  realize  what  an  acre  means.  An  acre  is  a  square 
about  209  feet  each  way,  4840  square  yards  of  land.  A 
New  York  City  avenue  block  is  about  200  feet  long  from 
house  corner  to  house  corner.  It  has  eight  city  lots  25  X 
100  in  its  front ;  about  double  that  space  (17f  lots)  makes 
an  acre. 

An  ordinary  one-horse  cart  holds  twenty  bushels,  so  then 
a  full  crop  of  potatoes  from  that  space  would  fill  56  carts. 

To  raise  potatoes  as  an  ordinary  farmer  raises  them,  re- 
quires him  to  go  over  the  ground  not  less  than  a  dozen  times, 
plowing,  harrowing,  marking,  planting,  cultivating,  three 

1  "Mr.  Knight,  whose  name  is  well  known  to  every  horticulturist 
in  England,  once  dug  out  of  his  fields  no  less  than  1284  bushels  of 
potatoes,  or  thirty-four  tons  and  nine  hundreds  weight  (about  34 
bushels  to  the  ton),  on  a  single  acre;  and  at  a  recent  competition 
in  Minnesota,  1120  bushels,  or  thirty  tons,  could  be  ascertained  as 
having  been  grown  on  one  acre."  (P.  Kropotkin's  "Fields,  Fac- 
tories and  Workshops,"  page  114.) 


MAKING  A  LIVING  — WHERE  AND  HOW      3 

times  weeding,  three  times  for  bugs,  and  digging;  it  would 
pay  him  to  go  over  it  much  oftener. 

If  he  plants  his  rows  of  potatoes  three  feet  apart,  to  allow 
for  horse  cultivation,  he  has  69  rows  of  200  feet  each ;  which 
makes  him  walk  at  least  thirty-three  miles  over  each  acre. 
If  he  has  a  twenty-acre  lot  in  potatoes,  he  walks  each  year 
more  than  650  miles  over  the  field  and  gets,  let  us  say,  150 
bushels  of  poor  potatoes  per  acre,  or  3000  bushels  off  his 
twenty-acre  field. 

Now  suppose  he  cultivates  the  soil,  instead  of  just  "rais- 
ing a  crop,"  and  gets  600  bushels  of  fine  potatoes  to  the 
acre,  he  need  plant  only  five  acres,  walk  only  200  miles, 
and,  because  his  potatoes  are  choice  and  early,  get  many 
times  the  price  that  his  pedestrian  neighbor  gets.  It  is  much 
easier  to  grow  200,000  Ib.  of  feed  on  one  acre  than  to  grow 
them  on  ten  acres. 

To  cultivate  is  to  watch  the  soil  as  you  would  watch  your  \ 
cooking  and  to  tend  the  crop  as  you  would  tend  your  annuals.  ^ 
The  crop  is  as  alive  as  the  stock  and  as  easily  gets  sick. 

If  an  ordinary  farmer  rents  60  acres  at  $5.00  per  acre,  a 
moderate  rent  for  good  land,  he  pays  out  in  cash  $300,  be- 
sides farm  wages.  If  he  buys  it,  his  interest  and  taxes  will 
amount  to  nearly  as  much ;  but  if  he  tills  but  five  acres  in- 
telligently, he  can  get  as  much  out  of  it  as  out  of  an  ordinary 
farm,  and  even  if  his  rent  be  as  high  as  $30  per  acre  for  well- 
situated  land,  he  is  $150  to  the  good ;  besides,  doing  the  work 
himself,  he  has  no  drain  of  capital  for  wages. 

Large  barns  and  shelter  for  help  being  unnecessary,  he  can 
live  in  a  cheap  shack  till  he  accumulates  enough  for  proper 
buildings.  Many  of  the  successful  vacant  lot  farmers  live 
in  a  tent  or  in  shanties  made  of  old  boxes  and  such  like. 

Of  course,  if  we  have  the  knowledge  and  ability  and  the 


4  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

capital  and  can  give  it  the  attention,  it  is  more  profitable  to 
cultivate  on  a  large  scale  than  on  a  small  one,  because  in  that 
case  each  worker  necessarily  produces  more  than  he  gets  as 
wages  —  and  we  pocket  the  difference. 

Most  American  farmers  are  holding  land  that  somebody 
ought  to  pay  them  a  bonus  for  working,  else  they  must  come 
out  of  the  little  end  of  the  horn.  They  get  poor  or  poorly 
situated  land,  because  it  costs  less,  and  then  put  three  or  four 
hundred  dollars'  worth  of  labor  and  money  a  year  into  the 
land  and  take  out  four  or  five  hundred  dollars'  worth  of 
crops. 

The  farmer  thinks  he  must  have  big  fields  to  feed  his  cattle, 
and  that  he  must  have  cattle  to  keep  the  big  fields  fertilized, 
so  he  raises  hay. 

In  that  he  makes  two  mistakes ;  hay,  like  most  other  low- 
priced  crops,  is  risky  —  the  cost  of  harvesting  is  high  and  the 
margin  of  profit  small.  A  week  of  wet  weather  at  cutting 
tune  or  the  impossibility  of  getting  enough  men  and  machines 
in  the  week  when  it  should  be  cut,  may  make  a  loss. 

But  the  scientific  dairy  man  does  not  take  that  risk,  nor 
let  his  cattle  use  up  this  fodder  by  wandering  over  the  fields 
in  search  of  tid-bits  of  grass  or  clover,  or,  goaded  by  the  flies, 
trampling  more  grass  than  they  eat  and  wasting  their  manure. 

He  keeps  the  cows  in  cool  sheds,  feeds  them  on  cut  fodder, 
and  saves  every  ounce  of  the  manure. 

The  modern  cow  is  a  ruminating  machine  for  producing 
milk  and  cares  little  for  exercise  and  needs  little.  To  exploit 
the  cattle  as  employers  exploit  the  factory  hands,  he  gives 
the  cows  a  cool,  shady  place  and  food,  and  they  stand  there 
all  day  long  to  their  profit  and  his.1 

1  United  States  Agricultural  Bulletin  No.  22  says:  "The 
New  Jersey  Experiment  Station  has  been  conducting  a  practical 


MAKING  A  LIVING  — WHERE  AND   HOW      5 

Although  we  can  feed  a  cow  on  less  than  an  acre  by  raising 
forage  crops,  she  needs  to  be  milked  every  day  at  regular 
hours,  and  the  milk,  as  well  as  the  cans  and  the  cow,  need  to 
be  cared  for  —  and  she  cannot  wait. 

The  stock-raiser  has  a  different  proposition ;  he  needs  fields 
and  grass ;  but  if  time  and  available  labor  is  limited,  we  had 
better  specialize  on  the  garden  —  unlike  the  farmers. 

The  farmers  are  not  to  blame  that  they  do  not  usually  cul- 
tivate the  land  intelligently.  They  are  mostly  cut  off  from 
the  educational  advantages  of  the  cities  by  distance  and  by 
bad  roads. 

Usually,  that  is  because,  desirable  land  being  held  at  spec- 
ulative prices,  they  are  forced  to  places  where  the  farm  itself 
is  worth  less  than  the  good  improvements  on  it  cost.  Some- 
times it  is  because,  also,  the  land  is  poor  or  worn  out ;  more 
often  because  it  is  thoughtlessly  managed,  nearly  always  be- 
cause the  land-hungry  farmer  has  taken  ten  times  as  much 
land  as  he  needs  for  farming.  In  the  hope  of  a  rise  that 
often  does  not  come,  nearly  all  have  bought  more  land  than 
they  can  take  good  care  of  with  limited  capital  and  scarcity 
of  help. 

trial  in  soiling  dairy  cows  for  a  number  of  years  past,  and  finds  that 
complete  soiling  is  entirely  practicable,  i.e.  that  green  foliage  crops 
may  serve  as  the  sole  food  of  the  dairy  herd,  aside  from  the  grain 
ration,  without  injury  to  the  animals  and  with  a  considerable  sav- 
ing in  the  cost  of  milk. 

"Under  the  soiling  system  a  large  number  of  animals  can  be 
kept  upon  a  given  acreage,  and  by  allowing  open-air  exercises  in 
a  large  yard  or  pasture  the  practice  has  been  demonstrated  as  en- 
tirely feasible  for  dairy  animals. 

"  One  acre  of  soiling  crops  produced  sufficient  fodder  for  an  equiv- 
alent of  3£  cows  for  six  months.  Rye,  corn,  crimson  clover, 
alfalfa,  oats  and  peas,  and  millets  have  been  found  to  furnish  food 
more  economically  than  any  other  green  crops  in  that  locality.  A 
grain  ration  was  always  fed  in  addition  to  the  soiling  crops." 


6  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

In  addition,  the  farms  have  held  out  such  poor  prospects 
of  fortune  that  the  smarter  and  more  enterprising  boys  and 
girls  have  left  them  for  the  towns,  leaving  behind  the  duller 
and  more  conservative  to  the  mercy  of  the  railroads  and 
other  monopolies.  What  wonder,  then,  that  the  overworked 
and  struggling  farmer  finds  little  chance  to  study,  or  to  in- 
vestigate and  invest  in  fertilizers  or  even  in  modern  methods 
of  agriculture. 

No  wonder  farming  does  not  pay  if  a  "farmer"  means  a 
stupid  man  with  neither  training  for,  nor  knowledge  of,  his 
business.  Those  who  have  the  knowledge  seldom  have  the 
experience  and  those  who  have  the  experience  seldom  have 
the  knowledge. 

The  bonanza  farms  of  the  West  are  other  samples  of  great 
areas  of  the  most  productive  land  in  the  United  States  being 
used  most  unscientifically.  By  the  methods  used,  the  land 
produces  less  per  acre  than  land  in  the  East  which  is  not  so 
good.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  the  bonanza  farm  plan, 
where  great  areas  of  wheat  are  worked  by  machines  with 
labor  employed  only  in  the  seed  time  and  harvest,  is  rapidly 
breaking  up.  As  the  land  becomes  valuable  and  is  taxed, 
such  wasteful,  wholesale  methods  do  not  pay  as  well  as  it 
pays  to  rent  or  sell  the  land  to  farmers,  who  each  for  them- 
selves attend  to  details  of  the  business.  Consequently,  most 
of  those  farms  are  being  sold  off.  The  whole  amount  of 
wheat  ever  raised  on  them,  however,  is  small  compared  to  the 
rice,  millet,  and  wheat  raised  in  China,  India,  and  Russia,  and 
is  insignificant  compared  to  the  amount  of  produce  grown  on 
the  myriad  little  farm  plots.1 

1  A  comparison  of  productions  as  taken  from  the  12th  and  13th 
United  States  Censuses  in  the  bonanza  farm  states  shows  that  the 
yield  of  wheat  was 


MAKING  A  LIVING  — WHERE  AND  HOW       7 

"The  average  extent  of  land  tilled  by  one  family  in  Japan 
does  not  exceed  one  hectare"  (2.471  acres),  less  than  two  and 
a  half  acres.  ("Japan  in  the  Beginning  of  the  Twentieth 
Century,"  page  89.  Published  by  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  Commerce  of  Japan.) 

"Farm  households  contain  on  an  average  5.8  persons,  of 
whom  two  and  a  half  persons  per  family  may  be  regarded  of 
an  age  capable  of  doing  effective  work." 

"So  that  here  we  have  more  than  one  person  working  on 
each  acre  and  each  acre  supporting  more  than  two  persons, 
notwithstanding  that  their  22,000,dtK)  tenant  farmers  pay 
sometimes  four  fifths  of  their  product  as  rent."  (Same, 
page  103.) 

Denmark,  one  of  the  best  agricultural  countries  and  prob- 
ably one  of  the  happiest  communities  on  earth,  reported 

1900  farms  of  250-300  acres, 

74,000  farms  averaging  100  acres, 

150,000  farms  averaging  7  to  10  acres, 

1050  cooperative  dairies,  and  so  on. 

And  so  impressed  has  the  ruling  class  there  become  with 
the  advantage  of  this  that  the  Government  will  supply  the 
poor  worker  nine  tenths  of  the  means  necessary  to  buy  a 
small  farm. 

Says  Kropotkin,  "the  small  island  of  Jersey,  eight  miles 
long  and  less  than  six  miles  wide,  still  remains  a  land  of 
open  field  culture;  but,  although  it  comprises  only  28,707 
acres  (nearly  45  square  miles),  rocks  included,  it  nourishes  a 

IN  1899  IN  1909 

Minnesota 14£  bu.  per  acre        17.4 

North  Dakota 13|  bu.  per  acre        14.3 

South  Dakota 10J  bu.  per  acre        14.6 

while  New  England  shows  23.5  bu.  per  acre. 

By  1917  these  largely  increased,  but  the  differences  remain. 


8  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

population  of  about  two  inhabitants  to  each  acre,  or  1300 
inhabitants  to  the  square  mile,  and  there  is  not  one  writer 
on  agriculture  who,  after  having  paid  a  visit  to  this  island, 
does  not  praise  the  well-being  of  the  Jersey  peasants  and  the 
admirable  results  which  they  obtain  in  their  small  farms  of 
from  five  to  twenty  acres  —  very  often  less  than  five  acres  — 
by  means  of  a  rational  and  intensive  culture. 

"  Most  of  my  readers  will  probably  be  astonished  to  learn 
that  the  soil  of  Jersey,  which  consists  of  decomposed  granite, 
with  no  organic  matter  in  it,  is  not  at  all  of  surprising  fertility, 
and  that  its  climate,  though  more  sunny  than  the  climate  of 
the  British  Isles,  offers  many  drawbacks  on  account  of  the 
small  amount  of  sun  heat  during  the  summer  and  of  the  cold 
winds  in  spring."  * 

In  a  small  plot  the  character  of  the  soil  is  of  little  conse- 
quence. We  hear  of  one  garden  in  New  York  City  on  the 
roof  of  a  big  building  where  the  janitor  smuggled  up  the 
needed  soil  in  baskets. 

The  school  gardens  in  New  York  City,  some  in  a  space 
as  small  as  a  hearth  rug,  one  yard  by  two,  show  how  to  use 
a  very  small  patch  of  land  to  the  best  advantage.  Nor  need 
it  take  more  time  than  you  can  afford. 

1  "The  successes  accomplished  lately  in  Jersey  are  entirely  due 
to  the  amount  of  labor  which  a  dense  population  is  putting  on  the 
land ;  to  a  system  of  land-tenure,  land-transference,  and  inheritance 
very  different  from  those  which  prevail  elsewhere ;  to  freedom  from 
State  taxation ;  and  to  the  fact  that  communal  institutions  have 
been  maintained  down  to  quite  a  recent  period,  while  a  number 
of  communal  habits  and  customs  of  mutual  support,  derived  there- 
from, are  alive  to  the  present  time."  ("Fields,  Factories  and 
Workshops.") 

"It  will  suffice  to  say  that  on  the  whole  the  inhabitants  of  Jersey 
obtain  agricultural  products  to  the  value  of  $250  to  each  acre  of  the 
aggregate  surface  of  land."  (Same,  page  113.) 


MAKING   A  LIVING  — WHERE  AND   HOW      9 

"Some  of  the  cultivators  of  city  lots  on  Long  Island  who 
kept  count  of  the  number  of  days  they  worked,  show  the  sur- 
prising conclusion  that  they  earned,  not  farm  wages  (seventy- 
five  cents  a  day  with  board  and  lodging  for  the  worker),  but 
mechanics'  wages  (four  dollars  per  day)  for  every  working 
day ;  as,  for  instance,  a  stone  cutter,  assisted  by  his  two  boys, 
worked  fifty  hours  and  made  $120.23."  ("Cultivation  of 
Vacant  Lots,  New  York,"  page  12) ;  and  four  city  lots  is  a 
very  little  farm. 

But  though  one  may  not  own  even  a  little  farm,  almost 
any  one  who  wants  to  can  have  a  home  garden  —  it  needs 
but  a  small  plot  of  land.  Nor  need  we  be  discouraged  be- 
cause acquaintances  who  play  at  gardening  tell  us  that  their 
vegetables  cost  them  more  than  if  they  bought  them. 

They  naturally  would,  with  thoughtless  methods  of  culti- 
vation, with  the  selection  of  crops  and  the  purchase  of  seeds 
left  to  an  uneducated  man  who  does  all  his  work  the  way  he 
saw  his  grandfather  do  it. 

Nor  are  we  to  be  discouraged  even  by  the  "gentleman 
farmer"  who  runs  a  model  farm,  a  model  of  how  not  to  do  it, 
for,  notwithstanding  its  large  capital,  it  seldom  pays. 

I  am  passing  such  a  farm  now  as  I  write  in  the  train  —  it 
is  surrounded  by  a  cut  stone  wall.  Do  you  suppose  the 
owner's  business  would  pay  if  it  were  run  in  the  same  way 
that  his  farm  is  run?  We  know  the  story  of  the  white 
sparrow  to  find  which  would  bring  luck  to  the  farm  —  but 
it  was  out  only  at  daybreak ;  the  farmer  got  up  each  morn- 
ing to  find  the  sparrow  and  found  a  lot  of  other  things  to  at- 
tend to,  which  did  bring  luck  to  the  farm.  I  don't  think 
the  owner  of  that  wall  worked  at  it,  at  daybreak. 

The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  builders  of  homes 
in  our  American  cities  will  be  compelled  to  leave  room  for  a 


10  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

garden,  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  people. 
In  the  mad  rush  for  wealth  we  have  overlooked  the  natural 
state,  but  we  see  a  healthy  reaction  setting  in.  With  the 
improvements  in  steam  and  electricity,  the  revolutionizing 
of  transportation,  the  cutting  of  the  arbitrary  telephone 
charges,  it  is  becoming  possible  to  live  at  a  distance  from 
our  business.  May  we  not  expect  in  the  near  future  to 
see  one  portion  of  our  cities  devoted  entirely  to  business, 
with  the  homes  of  the  people  so  separated  as  to  give  light, 
sunshine,  and  air  to  all,  besides  a  piece  of  ground  for  a  garden 
sufficient  to  supply  the  table  with  vegetables  ? 

You  raise  more  than  vegetables  in  your  garden :  you  raise 
your  expectation  of  life. 

Life  belongs  in  the  garden.  Do  you  remember  —  the  first 
chapters  of  Genesis  show  us  our  babyhood  in  a  garden  —  the 
garden  that  all  babyhood  remembers,  and  the  last  chapter  of 
the  Apocalypse  leaves  us  with  the  vision  of  the  garden  in  the 
Holy  City,  on  either  side  of  the  river,  where  the  trees  yield 
their  fruits  every  month  and  bear  leaves  of  universal  healing. 
Just  so  will  it  be  in  our  holy  cities  of  the  future  —  the  garden 
will  be  right  there  "  in  the  midst." 


CHAPTER  II 

PKESENT  CONDITIONS 

UP  to  the  Civil  War  and  for  some  years  after,  our  people 
were  almost  wholly  agricultural.  National  activity  con- 
tented itself  with  settling  and  developing  the  vast  areas  of 
the  public  lands,  whose  virgin  richness  cried  aloud  in  the 
wilderness  for  men. 

The  policy  of  the  government,  framed  to  stimulate 
rapid  occupation  of  the  public  lands,  had  attracted  hordes 
of  settlers  over  the  mountains  from  the  older  states,  and  im- 
migration flowed  in  a  steady  stream  into  the  valleys  of  the 
Ohio  and  the  Mississippi. 

A  system  had  grown  up  in  the  South  almost  patriarchal, 
based  upon  cultivation  by  slave  labor  of  enormous  areas  de- 
voted exclusively  to  cotton.  In  the  North,  New  England 
had  developed  some  few  centers  of  industry,  drawing  their 
support  from  the  manufacture  of  the  great  Southern  staple. 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia  were  growing  as  outlets 
for  foreign  commerce,  but  as  yet  manufacturing  flourished 
but  feebly  and  in  few  localities. 

Such  manufacturing  and  commercial  enterprises  as  existed 
had  been  laboriously  built  up  by  long  years  of  honest  work- 
ing. The  free  lands  of  the  government,  by  giving  laborers 
an  alternative,  kept  up  wages,  forcing  employers  to  bid 
against  each  other  for  labor;  and  monopoly  thus  being 
checked,  individual  equality  was  possible. 

11 


12  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

The  mineral  resources  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  were  all 
but  unsuspected,  and  the  calm  of  a  people  devoted  to  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture  rested  over  the  country. 

Railroads  were  few  and  inefficient:  telegraph  lines  but 
in  their  infancy.  Intercourse  among  the  people,  outside  of 
a  narrow  fringe  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  was  cumbersome, 
and  impeded  by  many  obstacles.  Primitive  conditions 
everywhere  prevailed,  and  communities  brooded  in  silence, 
growing  stragglingly  in  sluggish  indifference,  content  with 
coarse  food  and  coarser  living. 

Such,  in  general,  were  the  conditions  up  to  1861.  Then 
came  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell,  the  rain  of  blood,  the  ele- 
mental rage  of  passion  called  the  Civil  War.  There  was  a 
total  upset  of  business.  Such  periods  of  hard  times  as  had 
occurred  prior  to  that  time  had  been  caused  by  the  tinker- 
ing of  untrained  minds  with  the  money  system  or  by  land 
speculation,  and  not  by  lack  of  access  to  the  riches  of  nature. 
After  four  years  our  people  awoke,  as  from  a  nightmare,  to 
find  the  old  life  swept  away  forever.  In  the  South,  the  Con- 
federates, bitter  and  sullen,  groping  amid  the  ruins  of  their 
institutions,  sought  to  find  some  substitute  for  the  agricul- 
tural despotism  exercised  for  generations  by  their  slave- 
holding  families.  In  the  East,  the  first  families  of  the 
Revolution,  secure  in  their  preeminence,  assumed  again  the 
manufacturing-banking-social  prestige.  The  far  West  was 
still  almost  unknown,  and  remained  in  possession  of  the 
buffalo  and  the  Indian.  Settlers  poured,  in  increasing 
numbers,  on  to  the  unappropriated  lands  still  left  in  the 
states  of  the  central  West,  and  the  center  of  political  power 
shifted  rapidly  to  this  fertile  region. 

Already  men  of  keen  insight  foresaw  a  time  when  oil,  tim- 
ber, coal,  and  iron  must  become  the  stay  of  a  vastly  expand- 


.     PRESENT  CONDITIONS  13 

ing  industrial  system,  and  bent  their  energies  to  secure  the 
chief  sources  of  supply.  From  the  nature  of  their  work  the 
men  who  built  railways  first  became  aware  of  the  riches  of 
nature,  and  aided  by  an  enormous  public  sympathy  with 
their  efforts,  monopolized  all  the  natural  opportunities  of 
value.  Coupled  with  industrial  development  was  the  grad- 
ual appropriation  of  the  land.  The  time  soon  arrived  when 
the  late  comers  either  stayed  in  the  manufacturing  centers 
at  the  railways  terminals  or  were  pushed  farther  and  farther 
away  from  the  centers.  As  the  landowning  families  multi- 
plied, the  young  men  were  confined  to  the  same  choice. 
Forced  off  the  land,  the  tendency  has  been  to  crowd  the  brain- 
iest blood  of  America  into  the  cities.  In  addition,  the  compe- 
tition of  the  new  Western  lands,  brought  into  use  by  railway 
development,  has  exiled  the  youth  of  New  England,  who 
found  in  their  rocky  acres  no  incentive  to  toil.  They,  too, 
joined  the  ever-increasing  flow  to  the  cities,  and  entered  into 
the  savage  competition  of  our  great  towns. 

In  our  time  the  pendulum  has  swung  to  its  extreme.  At 
every  depression  of  business,  armies  of  the  unemployed  perish 
in  sight  of  the  land  they  abandoned  in  the  hope  of  a  brighter 
future.  Their  children  have  forgotten  the  traditions  of  the 
soil,  and  the  energies  of  our  people  must  now  be  concentrated 
to  reverse  the  aimless  tide  of  human  sufferers,  which  under 
stress  continues  to  flow  city-ward,  and  to  send  it  to  repeople 
the  silent  places  whence  it  came.  The  fight  will  not  be  easily 
won.  Changes  in  the  national  land  policy  are  imperative. 
To  give  one  generation  privileges  which  enslave  all  who 
succeed  it,  is  intolerable  and  will  not  be  permanently  endured. 

It  is  easy  to  determine  upon  a  policy  in  the  quiet  of  the 
study ;  different  is  the  problem  of  applying  a  comprehensive 
scheme  to  repeople  the  idle  land.  In  the  first  place,  where 


14  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

is  the  idle  land?  In  all  parts  of  our  country  it  exists  in 
abundance.  Almost  every  state  in  the  Union  has  lands 
which  either  have  never  been  alienated,  or  which  have  re- 
verted to  the  state  through  nonpayment  of  taxes.  In  the 
East,  particularly,  the  competition  of  Western  lands,  aided 
by  discriminating  freight  rates,  now  so  notorious,  has  resulted 
in  the  abandonment  to  the  mortgagee  of  vast  areas  in  New 
York,  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  and  to  some 
extent  in  New  Jersey.  These  are  now  largely  resold. 

Declining  fertility  and  exorbitant  and  oppressive  trans- 
portation charges  have  helped  to  keep  these  lands  out  of  use, 
and  some  still  lie  idle  and  neglected,  to  excite  the  wonder 
of  the  social  and  economic  student.  To  use  the  abandoned 
lands  of  the  East,  equal  rates  on  agricultural  products  is  a 
basic  necessity. 

The  first  step,  now  well  under  way,  is  railroad  control  by 
the  Government.  Equal  access  to  transportation  is  as  es- 
sential as  equal  access  to  land,  for  transportation  is  indeed 
an  attribute  of  land. 

Extending  the  inquiry  westward,  the  coal  and  oil  areas  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  are  all  controlled  by  a  few  hands. 
The  original  fertility  of  the  farming  areas  of  these  states,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  that  they  have  been  producing  for  only 
about  a  century,  has  enabled  them  to  hold  their  own  until 
recently,  but  now  only  the  best  located  tracts  are  in  maxi- 
mum production,  and  this  can  be  maintained  only  by  the 
most  advanced  agricultural  science.  In  spite  of  greater 
advantages,  the  crowded  cities  and  deserted  country  districts 
are  beginning  to  repeat  in  the  fertile  alluvial  valleys  of  the 
interior,  the  tragic  story  of  the  East. 

In  the  Mississippi  valley,  conditions  seem  better.  Values 
of  farming  lands  are  increasing  rapidly ;  the  farms  are  rich 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  15 

and  growing  richer ;  food  products  are  cheap  and  abundant ; 
certain  staples  are  produced  in  enormous  quantities  and  sent 
to  feed  the  cities  of  the  East  and  the  industrial  population 
of  Europe.  The  railroads  transport  these  products  nearly 
one  thousand  miles  for  the  same  prices  as  they  charge  in  the 
East  for  transporting  them  one  hundred  miles.  Wealth, 
activity,  and  political  power  concentrate  at  the  inlet  and  out- 
let of  the  railway  funnel,  leaving  vast  areas  of  unused  and  un- 
usable land  between  the  terminals.  Access  to  markets  deter- 
mines value.  That  is  why  the  favored  lands  of  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Kansas,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin,  one  to  two  thousand  miles 
from  market,  have  risen  in  value  to  as  high  as  three  hundred 
dollars  per  acre,  and  the  lands  of  New  England,  New  York, 
and  New  Jersey  go  begging  at  twenty  to  sixty  dollars  per  acre, 
unless  they  lie  within  the  artificial  prosperity  of  the  cities. 

Farther  west  in  the  irrigated  regions  of  Colorado  and  Utah, 
restricted  areas  are  held  for  special  fruit  crops,  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  three  hundred  to  two  thousand  dollars  and  up,  per 
acre.  But  here,  again,  monopoly,  now  a  monopoly  of  natu- 
ral opportunity,  is  a  factor  in  creating  prices ;  on  this,  how- 
ever, the  vast  irrigation  projects  of  the  government,  bringing 
into  use  larger  and  larger  areas  of  these  favored  lands,  were 
expected  to  exercise  a  check.  Up  to  1918  little  has  been 
sold.  Their  reclamation  cost  too  much. 

The  willingness  of  the  Southern  planters  to  sell  their  lands, 
and  so  to  release  them  for  intensive  cultivation,  has  partly 
turned  the  tide  of  immigration  from  the  Eastern  ports  to 
the  South,  and  the  market  garden  system  is  reaching  increas- 
ing areas.  The  development  of  factories  to  make  cotton 
fabrics  and  to  utilize  the  formerly  wasted  cotton  seed  by  turn- 
ing it  into  meal  for  cattle  and  other  animals,  as  well  as  into 
the  various  food  products,  such  as  cotton-seed  oil,  cottolene, 


16  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

etc.,  has  stimulated  the  use  of  the  waste  land  around  these 
budding  factory  centers,  thus  tending  to  encourage  intensive 
use  of  small,  well-located  tracts. 

With  a  climate  much  milder  and  more  equable  than  that 
of  the  Northern  states,  with  a  potential  fertility  of  soil, 
equally  great  under  proper  management,  the  South  is  making 
greater  strides  than  any  other  part  of  the  country. 

The  foregoing  shows  that  in  every  section  opportunities 
of  getting  the  people  to  the  land  exist.  Where  a  man  should 
go  is  determined  by  a  variety  of  things.  If  he  be  a  newly 
arrived  immigrant  used  to  land  work  in  Southern  Europe, 
he  would  find  his  best  chance  in  the  South ;  if  a  German  or 
Russian,  or  from  any  of  the  Northern  European  countries, 
he  would  find  the  beet-sugar  sections  of  Michigan,  Colorado, 
or  California  more  to  his  liking ;  if  American  born,  without 
much  knowledge  of  out-door  work,  and  feeling  the  need  of 
social  life,  the  cheap  farms  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
New  England  would  probably  be  most  attractive. 

Many  persons  write  me  that  I  say  it  is  necessary  to  get 
good  land  near  population  or  with  cheap  and  assured  trans- 
portation facilities  —  and  that  it  must  not  cost  more  than  it 
is  worth  for  gardening.  " I  find,"  they  say,  "that  such  acres 
are  held  as  'lots'  at  wildly  speculative  prices"  and  they  ask 
"Where  can  I  find  such  land?"  But  this  is  a  book  on  agri- 
cultural use  of  land.  Why  land  costs  too  much  and  where 
the  remedy  lies  are  other  questions,  dealt  with  in  my  "Things 
as  They  Are." 

However,  probably  the  best  chances  now  for  intensive  cul- 
tivation are  in  New  Jersey,  in  the  backwoods  of  the  Middle 
states  now  made  accessible  by  cheap  autos — and  in  the  South. 

What  can  be  undertaken  with  good  prospects  of  success 
will  be  outlined  in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  III 

HOW  TO  BUY  THE   FARM 

BEFORE  the  purchase  of  the  land  for  a  home  in  the  country, 
some  consideration  ought  to  be  given  to  probable  increase 
in  land  values.  Even  if  you  are  primarily  interested  in  your 
early  sales  of  produce,  you  will  not  object  to  reaping  an  addi- 
tional profit  from  the  presence  of  other  people. 

Inasmuch  as  density  of  population  determines  land  values, 
it  follows  that  vacant  land  near  a  large  city  at  $100  per  acre 
may  be  cheaper  than  similar  land  at  a  distance  would  be  at 
$10  per  acre.  If  you  buy  real  estate,  you  become  a  silent 
partner  who  does  nothing,  but  takes  most  of  the  profits  of 
the  business  of  others. 

Some  persons  see  so  clearly  that  money  is  often  easily  gotten 
by  investing  in  land,  that  sometimes  they  make  mistakes,  in 
trying  to  get  in.  It  is  as  easy  to  be  a  lamb  in  the  real  estate 
market  as  it  is  in  the  stock  market. 

Foresight,  judgment,  and  experience  or  luck  are  essential 
to  success  in  real  estate  dealing,  but  help,  at  least  in  keeping 
out  of  danger,  may  be  had  by  following  a  few  simple  rules, 
if  one  can  command  a  little  capital,  borrowed  or  owned. 

The  following  points,  suggested  by  a  professional  land 
shark,  will  certainly  be  of  interest  and  possibly  of  profit  to 
the  intending  buyer.  I  believe  myself  that  they  contain  the 
whole  philosophy  of  land  speculation. 

For  a  sure  profit  buy  low-priced  land,  keeping  as  near  the 
"raw  material"  as  possible;  high-priced  property  is  risky 
c  17 


18  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

and  expensive  to  carry.  An  acre  which  costs  one  or  two 
hundred  dollars,  or  ten  dollars  per  lot,  will  cost  but  six  to 
twelve  dollars  per  year  to  carry  and  half  a  dollar  for  taxes, 
and  if  a  stable  does  come  next  you,  why,  you  can  sell  your 
land  for  a  blacksmith  shop. 

Besides  this,  a  ten-dollar  lot,  if  restricted  for  residence  or 
available  for  business,  often  advances  to  $100  in  a  year; 
one  good  house  which  some  one  else  built  near  it  may  raise 
its  value  that  much. 

If  the  land  is  high  priced,  see  that  there  is  some  kind  of  a 
building  on  it ;  even  a  shanty  will  usually  bring  in  enough 
or  save  you  enough  by  its  use  to  pay  the  taxes ;  so  you  will 
have  that  working  for  you  whilst  you  are  away. 

If  possible,  buy  at  auction  and  of  reputable  people  who 
are  not  boomers,  or  at  least  buy  at  forced  sale ;  that  is  how 
real  estate  is  sold  when  it  must  be  sold.  Choose  lots  level 
with  the  curb  and  on  high  ground,  lest  the  expense  of  grad- 
ing and  sewering  eat  up  your  profit. 

Keep  in  mind  that  in  buying  land  for  speculation  one  really 
buys  the  opportunity  to  tax  other  people,  by  taking  part  of 
their  earnings  in  the  shape  of  rent  or  price.  Do  not  then  be 
deluded  by  boom  schemes  in  inaccessible  or  desolate  places ; 
choose  rather  that  land  which  in  the  natural  course  of  events 
others  must  have  in  order  to  work  or  to  live. 

Home  buying  in  small  communities  is  safer  than  in  the  out- 
skirts of  a  large  city,  because  public  improvements  are  much 
less  costly.  If  you  put  $500  in  a  $5000  home  and  carry  the 
balance  on  mortgage,  an  assessment  of  $1000  for  streets  or 
sewers,  which  helps  the  vacant  lots,  will  probably  put  you 
out  of  business.  Whether  for  use  or  speculation,  buy  in  an 
established  neighborhood  .or  where  the  circumstances  and 
neighbors  are  such  that  restrictions  or  expenditures  will  make 


HOWJTO  BUY  THE  FARM  19 

its  character  sure.  The  increase  in  your  land  value  depends 
first  upon  the  presence,  then  upon  the  efforts,  of  others; 
it  is  by  their  labor  you  hope  to  profit. 

Therefore,  buy  property  on  leading  thoroughfares ;  except 
in  a  very  small  section  devoted  to  the  residence  of  millionaires, 
the  price  of  residence  property  has  a  limit;  even  there  the 
merest  accident  or  the  whim  of  fashion  may  destroy  the  value, 
but  there  is  no  telling  what  figure  business  property  may  reach. 

Do  not  build  unless  you  have  to.  It  is  rare  that  a  build- 
ing pays  five  per  cent  net  on  the  value  of  the  land  and  the 
cost  of  the  house.  "Who  buys  a  house  already  wrought, 
gets  many  a  brick  and  nail  for  nought."  If,  however,  you 
can  get  a  piece  of  ground  in  a  growing  neighborhood  and 
live  on  it  till  you  can  sell  at  an  advance,  that  is  the  safest, 
and  surest  of  investments.  It  delivers  you  from  the  power 
of  the  landlord. 

Lastly  —  in  real  estate  —  don't  bite  off  more  than  you  can 
chew. 

Most  of  these  rules  apply  to  the  purchase  of  suburban 
land.  In  farm  buying,  keep  as  close  to  your  market  as  you 
can.  See  that  railway  facilities  are  all  right ;  get  land  likely 
to  be  needed  for  other  purposes.  The  best  way  to  begin  is 
by  securing  all  information  possible  from  state  agricultural 
departments.  Write  to  the  industrial  agents  of  important 
railroads  traversing  the  section  hi  which  you  want  to  locate. 
They  have  detailed  information  regarding  land,  markets,  so- 
cial conditions,  etc. ;  get  from  the  United  States  Agricultural 
Department  a  map  showing  the  soil  survey  of  the  section  of 
your  choice.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  personal  aid  is 
not  to  be  expected  from  State  Agricultural  Departments, 
Bureaus  of  Immigration,  railway  companies,  or  any  public 
agency. 


20  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

From  the  big  farm  agencies  run  for  profit  you  can  get  lists 
of  thousands  of  properties  for  sale.  Some  State  Agricultural 
Departments  cooperate  with  real  estate  men  in  their  own 
states,  by  referring  inquiries  for  farms  to  them.  Some  states 
issue  from  time  to  time  lists  of  "abandoned  farms,"  but  these 
change  so  constantly  that  they  help  but  little  except  in  the 
way  of  suggestion. 

When  you  start  farm-hunting  take  along  a  good  map. 
Then  you  will  know  a  few  things  on  your  own  account. 
Verify  railroad  maps  and  "  facts,"  as  they  are  often  biased. 
Don't  waste  your  time  wandering  around  a  strange 
locality  by  yourself.  The  local  real  estate  man  knows  more 
about  his  community  than  you  can  learn  in  five  years.  In 
trying  to  find  out  things  for  yourself  you  will  waste  in  aim- 
less journeys,  undertaken  in  ignorance  of  real  conditions, 
more  tune  and  money  than  a  real  estate  man's  commission 
amounts  to. 

The  only  way  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  production  of 
any  given  section  is  to  examine  a  particular  farm  in  detail. 
Within  well-recognized  limits,  all  the  farms  thereabouts 
will  be  found  of  similar  character.  Before  spending  money 
to  look  at  land,  learn  all  you  can  by  correspondence.  Whether 
it  is  more  profitable  in  the  long  run  to  buy  that  good  plot  of 
land  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  with  good  buildings  on  it, 
at  a  high  price,  than  to  buy  this  exhausted  piece  of  land  with 
poor  buildings  or  none  at  all,  is  a  question  for  the  individual 
to  decide.  It  depends  on  your  energy,  grit,  age,  and  how 
much  money  you  have.  It  is  much  easier  to  take  advantage 
of  what  the  other  fellow  has  done,  than  it  is  to  build  from 
the  stump.  You  must  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  well- 
kept  land  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  seldom  goes  begging 
in  the  market.  On  the  whole,  if  you  have  the  capital  to  do 


HOW  TO  BUY  THE  FARM  21 

it,  you  can  make  the  biggest  wages  by  buying  rough  or  neg- 
lected land,  and  hewing  it  into  shape. 

If  you  have  a  knowledge  of  soils,  you  may  be  able  to  find 
land  that  will  grow  something  that  no  one  supposes  it  will 
grow.  This  will  be  particularly  useful  in  the  case  of  land 
thought  to  be  valueless.  The  lands  about  Miles,  Michigan, 
were  considered  sterile  until  some  one  found  out  that  they 
would  grow  mint,  a  valuable  crop,  which  made  the  land  sal- 
able at  high  prices. 

Get  hold  of  a  desirable  bit  of  the  earth.  All  that  men 
wear  or  eat  or  use;  everything  —  shelter,  food,  tools,  and 
toys  comes  from  the  land  by  labor.  Even  the  capital  used 
to  make  more  of  those  things  is  taken  from  the  land.  The 
employer  and  the  capitalist  are,  at  bottom,  only  men  who  con- 
trol the  land  or  its  products,  who  own  rights  of  way,  mining 
rights,  or  the  fee  of  valuable  lands.  Thousands  have  "  made  " 
money  by  finding  unexpected  products  in  their  land  or  of  their 
lands,  oil,  coal,  mineral,  plants;  thousands  more  because 
their  land  was  needed  by  some  one  else,  and  they  were  paid 
to  get  out  of  the  way. 

To  speculate  on  these  chances  is  risky  business;  to  keep 
land  that  enables  you  to  make  good  pay  while  you  wait,  is 
profitable. 


CHAPTER  IV 

VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION 

IN  this  book,  necessarily,  we  have  to  take  much  upon 
the  reports  of  others,  checking  them  by  our  own  judgment 
and  experience.  The  startling  accounts  of  what  has  been 
done  and  is  being  done  on  plots  of  about  a  quarter  acre  to 
each  family,  however,  can  be  easily  re-verified  by  any  one 
who  will  go  or  write  to  Philadelphia,  or  examine  any  present 
experiment  or  model  gardens.  These  show  what  can  be  done 
even  by  unskilled  labor,  with  hardly  any  capital,  on  small 
plots  where  the  soil  was  poor,  but  which  are  well  situated. 

The  directors  say :  "The  first  Vacant  Lot  Cultivation  As- 
sociations were  organized  when  relief  agencies  were  vainly 
striving  to  provide  adequate  assistance  for  the  host  of  un- 
employed. The  cultivation  of  vacant  city  lots  by  the  unem- 
ployed had  already  been  tried  successfully  in  other  cities. 
The  first  year  we  provided  gardens,  seeds,  tools,  and  instruc- 
tion only,  for  about  one  hundred  families  on  twenty-seven 
acres  of  ground.  At  a  total  cost  to  contributors  of  about 
$1800,  our  gardeners  produced  $46,000  worth  of  crops." 

The  applicant  is  allowed  a  garden  on  the  sole  condition  that 
he  cultivate  it  well  through  the  season,  and  that  he  do  not 
trespass  upon  his  neighbors.  He  must  respect  their  right 
to  what  their  labor  produces.  A  failure  to  observe  these 
rules  forfeits  his  privilege. 

22 


VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION  23 

During  twenty  years,  more  than  eight  thousand  families 
have  been  assisted,  many  old  people  who  could  no  longer 
keep  up  the  rapid  pace  of  our  industrial  life,  cripples  whose 
physical  condition  held  them  back  in  the  race  for  work, 
persons  who  on  account  of  sickness  or  other  misfortunes  have 
been  thrown  out  of  the  competition  in  modern  business,  and 
unfortunate  beings  who,  though  clear  in  mind  and  strong  in 
muscle,  have  been  forced  to  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed  — 
these  have  all  had  an  opportunity  opened  to  them :  oppor- 
tunity to  enjoy  all  of  the  fruits  from  nature's  great  storehouse 
which  their  own  labor  and  skill  might  secure. 

The  war  has  forced  France,  Italy,  and  England  similarly 
to  utilize  natural  opportunities  for  subsistence  in  their 
enormous  tracts  of  unproductive  lands.  In  Mexico  all 
proprietors  will  be  required  to  designate  what  they  propose 
to  cultivate  and  the  remainder  will  either  be  allotted  tem- 
porarily for  agricultural  purposes  to  those  desiring  them  or 
it  will  be  cultivated  under  government  management.  There 
is  no  remedy  like  that  for  poverty. 

The  first  man  who  applied  for  a  vacant  lot  garden  came 
to  the  Philadelphia  office  after  the  announcement  in  the 
papers,  so  weak  and  emaciated  that  the  doctor  was  afraid  the 
poor  fellow  would  be  unable  to  get  out  of  his  office  without 
assistance.  He  was  a  widower  with  three  girls  and  a  boy, 
the  oldest  girl  about  seventeen. 

He  received  a  garden  which  contained  only  about  one  fifth 
of  an  acre.  Later  he  observed  that  a  part  of  another  little 
farm  was  left  untouched  on  account  of  being  very  rough, 
full  of  holes,  and  covered  with  stone  and  bricks.  Part  of  this 
farm  was  below  the  street  grade  and  subject  to  overflow,  but 
it  was  larger  than  the  others  —  nine  tenths  of  an  acre.  He 
offered  to  exchange,  saying  he  did  not  mind  the  extra  work. 


24  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

His  offer  was  accepted.  In  a  few  days  the  stones  and  bricks 
had  been  thrown  into  the  holes  and  covered  with  dirt.  The 
low  places  had  been  filled  in.  It  was  a  work  in  which  the 
whole  family  joined.  A  small  house  was  rented  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood  in  lieu  of  their  one  room  near  the 
foul  alleys  of  the  city  slum. 

Every  inch  of  the  soil  was  utilized.  A  rosy  hue  took  the 
place  of  the  pale,  wan  cheek  of  a  few  months  before.  And 
now  the  harvest  has  come,  and  the  winter's  store  can  be 
enumerated.  Thirty  bushels  of  potatoes,  four  bushels  of 
turnips,  one  bushel  of  carrots,  thirty  gallons  of  sauerkraut, 
fifteen  gallons  of  catsup,  five  gallons  of  pickled  beans,  one 
hundred  quarts  of  canned  tomatoes,  fifty  quarts  of  canned 
corn,  twenty  quarts  of  beans,  one  thousand  or  more  fine 
celery  stalks,  and  many  other  things.  Warm  clothing  has 
replaced  the  badly  worn  garments  of  nine  months  ago.  A 
few  pieces  of  furniture  have  been  added.  The  boy  has  been 
provided  with  a  small  capital  for  his  little  business.  ("Va- 
cant Lot  Cultivation,"  Reprint  from  N.  Y.  Charities  Review.} 
Better  labor  would  of  course  get  even  better  results. 

The  personal  benefits  that  have  come  to  a  few  individual 
cases,  are  largely  the  same  that  all  the  gardeners  enjoyed  in 
New  York  and  elsewhere. 

An  old  colored  woman  —  a  grandmother  —  who  had  just 
been  released  from  one  of  the  hospitals  where  she  had  been 
treated  for  a  long  time  for  pleurisy,  asked  for  a  garden.  It 
was  more  than  a  mile  to  the  nearest  plot,  but  she  was  quite 
willing  to  go  even  that  distance  if  she  could  get  a  garden. 
At  first,  owing  to  her  weakened  condition,  she  was  forced  to 
work  slowly  and  for  short  periods  only,  but  a  little  assistance 
enabled  her  to  get  a  garden  started.  The  work  proceeded 
so  well  that  more  land  was  added  to  her  small  holding,  and 


VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION  25 

most  of  her  waking  hours  were  now  spent  either  in  or  near 
the  garden,  working  among  the  tender  plants  or  watching 
them  grow.  Before  the  season  was  half  spent  she  had  devel- 
oped one  of  the  best  gardens  in  the  whole  plot.  Her  surplus 
produce  became  so  large  that  she  had  to  devote  most  of  her 
time  to  gathering  and  selling  it.  Finally  she  rented  a  small 
shed  on  a  prominent  street  and  passers-by  often  stopped, 
and  regular  customers  came  to  buy  the  freshly  gathered 
produce,  the  supply  being  not  only  abundant,  but  of  great 
variety. 

One  of  the  best  gardens,  from  the  standpoint  of  value  of 
produce  as  well  as  for  the  varieties  of  products  it  contained 
and  the  artistic  arrangement,  was  worked  by  a  man  who  had 
but  one  arm.  Many  other  successful  and  profitable  gardens 
were  cultivated  by  men  and  women  of  an  age  when  we  gen- 
erally expect  them  to  depend  entirely  upon  others  for  support. 

Many  incidents  were  found  where  such  habits  as  drinking 
and  loafing  around  saloons  and  clubs  and  abusing  the  family 
have  been  checked  on  account  of  the  gardener's  time  and 
attention  being  occupied  in  the  little  farm. 

One  of  the  workers  came  for  work  in  a  condition  of  mind 
and  body  which  rendered  his  services  almost  worthless. 
He  was  scarcely  able  to  carry  on  his  work  for  a  minute  be- 
yond what  he  was  shown.  Each  new  move  had  to  be  ex- 
plained constantly,  and  even  then  he  was  often  found  doing 
the  work  in  the  wrong  way  only  a  few  minutes  afterwards. 
Before  long,  however,  he  began  to  see  that  his  place  had 
its  responsibilities  and  that  the  work  of  Mother  Nature 
depended  on  his  doing  his  part  and  doing  it  well.  By  the 
tune  the  crops  were  ready  to  gather  and  market  he  came  to 
realize  that  the  cost  of  production  must  come  under  the 
amount  received  from  the  sale  of  the  produce  so  as  to 


26  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

prevent  loss.  By  the  end  of  the  season  he  had  learned  so 
to  utilize  his  time  and  to  organize  his  work  and  execute 
our  plans  that  we  were  able  to  recommend  him  to  a  farmer 
who  was  looking  for  a  handy  man  about  the  place. 

In  twenty  years  our  Associations  have  made  demonstra- 
tions of  the  following  facts,  each  demonstration  proving  more 
clearly  than  the  former  ones : 

First.  That  many  people  out  of  employment  must  have 
help  of  some  kind. 

Second.  That  a  great  majority  of  them  prefer  self-help, 
and  many  will  take  no  other.  Nearly  all  are  able  and  willing 
to  improve  any  opportunities  open  to  them. 

Third.  That  to  open  opportunities  to  them  does  not  pau- 
perize or  degrade,  but  has  the  opposite  effect  of  elevating 
and  ennobling.  It  quickly  establishes  self-respect  and  self- 
confidence.  The  best  and  most  effective  way  of  helping 
people  in  need  is  to  open  a  way  whereby  they  may  help 
themselves.  The  most  effective  charity  is  opportunity  ac- 
companied with  kindly  advice  and  a  personal  interest  in  those 
less  fortunate  than  ourselves. 

Fourth.  That  the  offering  of  gardens  to  the  unemployed 
with  proper  supervision  and  some  assistance  by  providing 
seeds,  fertilizers,  and  plowing  accompanied  with  instruction, 
is  the  cheapest  and  easiest  way  of  opening  opportunities  yet 
devised. 

Fifth.  That  it  possesses  many  advantages  in  addition  to 
providing  profitable  employment;  among  others,  that  the 
worker  must  come  out  into  the  open  air  and  sunshine ;  must 
exercise,  and  put  forth  exertion,  —  all  of  which  are  conducive 
to  health,  and,  most  important  of  all,  he  knows  that  all  he 
raises  is  to  be  his  own.  This  is  the  greatest  incentive  to 
industry. 


VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION  27 

The  Vacant  Lot  Cultivation  system  is  a  school  wherein 
gardeners  are  taught  a  trade  (to  most  of  them  a  new  trade), 
farming,  which  offers  employment  for  more  people  than  all 
the  other  trades  and  professions  combined :  a  trade  suscep- 
tible of  wide  diversification  and  offering  many  fields  for  spe- 
cializing. But  little  capital  is  required ;  any  other  field  would 
require  large  outlay.  Its  greatest  advantage,  however,  is 
that  the  idle  men  and  the  idle  land  are  already  close  to  each 
other  —  the  men  can  reach  their  gardens  without  changing 
their  domiciles  or  being  separated  from  their  families. 
1  It  was  not  until  after  several  years  that  the  full  effect  of 
the  work  was  realized.  A  few  gardeners  each  year  from  the 
beginning  have,  after  one  or  two  years'  experience,  taken 
small  farms  or  plots  of  land  to  cultivate  on  their  own  account, 
or  have  sought  employment  on  farms  near  the  city ;  but  the 
number  is  quite  small  compared  to  the  whole  number 
helped.  Now  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  those  that  had 
gardens  previously  have  for  the  last  two  years  been  working 
on  their  own  account.  Out  of  nearly  eight  hundred  garden- 
ers, more  than  eighty-five  either  rented  or  secured  the 
loan  of  gardens  that  season  and  cultivated  them  wholly  at 
their  own  expense,  and  many  others  would  have  done  so 
had  suitable  land  been  available.  The  number  of  gardens 
forfeited  on  account  of  poor  cultivation  or  trespassing  was 
only  two  out  of  800  plots  given  out. 

The  first  important  advance  was  early  in  the  spring  of  1904, 
when  it  became  known  that  a  large  tract  of  land  that  had 
been  in  gardens  for  several  years  would  be  withdrawn  from 
use.  A  number  of  the  gardeners  came  together  to  talk  over 
the  situation.  One  proposed  that  they  form  a  club  to  lease 
a  tract  of  land  and  divide  it  up  among  themselves.  The  plan 
was  readily  agreed  to,  and  a  nine-acre  tract  on  Lansdowne 


28  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Avenue  was  rented  at  $15  per  acre  per  annum.  Some  sixteen 
families  became  interested,  and  Mr.  D.  F.  Rowe,  who  had 
been  one  of  the  most  successful  gardeners,  became  manager. 
They  had  the  land  thoroughly  fertilized  and  plowed,  and  then 
subdivided.  Some  took  separate  allotments,  as  under  the 
Vacant  Lot  Association's  plan,  and  others  worked  for  the 
manager  at  an  agreed  rate  of  wages  per  hour.  The  whole 
nine  acres  were  thoroughly  well  cultivated,  and  a  magnificent 
crop  harvested. 

As  soon  as  there  was  produce  for  sale,  a  market  was  es- 
tablished on  the  ground  and  a  regular  delivery  system  or- 
ganized, which  later  attracted  much  attention.  It  was 
carried  on  by  the  children,  of  nine  to  twelve  years  of  age, 
from  the  various  families.  Each  child  was  provided  with  a 
pushcart.  There  were  many  and  various  styles,  made  from 
little  express  wagons,  baby  coaches,  and  produce  boxes. 

The  children  built  up  their  own  routes,  and  went  regularly 
to  their  customers  for  orders.  They  made  up  the  orders, 
loaded  them  into  their  little  pushcarts,  charged  themselves 
up  with  the  separate  amounts  in  a  small  book,  and  at  the 
end  of  each  day's  sales  each  child  settled  with  the  manager 
and  was  paid  his  commission  (twenty  per  cent  of  the  receipts) 
in  cash.  These  little  salesmen  and  salesgirls  often  took  home 
four  to  five  dollars  per  week  and  yet  never  worked  more  than 
three  to  five  hours  per  day.  The  work  was  done  under  such 
circumstances  that  to  them  it  was  not  work  but  play.  You 
can  get  the  full  report  from  the  Philadelphia  "  Vacant  Lot 
Cultivation  Associations."  It's  interesting. 

"The  greatest  value  that  our  little  garden  has  brought  us," 
said  a  French  woman,  mother  of  a  goodly  number  of  rather 
small  children,  "has  not  been  in  the  fine  vegetables  it  has 
yielded  all  summer,  or  the  good  times  that  I  and  the  children 


VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION  29 

have  had  in  the  open  air,  but  in  the  glasses  of  beer  and  ab- 
sinthe that  my  husband  hasn't  taken."  "  Quite  right,  mother, 
quite  right,"  came  from  a  man  near  by.  "The  world  can 
never  know  the  evil  we  men  don't  do  while  we  are  busy  in 
our  little  gardens." 

Further,  pillage  of  crops,  which  was  always  urged  as  an  ob- 
jection to  raising  fruits  or  truck  on  open  grounds,  has  proved 
to  be  a  baseless  fear.  Where  any  of  the  gardeners  are  allowed 
to  camp  or  put  up  shacks  on  the  patches,  theft  does  not  occur 
and  various  superintendents  repeat  that  "  the  few  and  trivial 
cases  of  stealing  from  vacant  lot  plots  or  school  gardens  were 
almost  all  at  the  places  that  were  fenced." 

Perhaps  our  locks  and  bolts  tend  to  suggest  breaking  in. 

The  Garden  Primer  issued  by  the  New  York  City  Food 
Supply  Committee  gives  simple  but  incomplete  directions  for 
planting  and  tending  a  vegetable  garden.  For  those  who 
need  that  sort  of  thing,  these  are  just  the  sort  of  thing  they 
need.  They  will  be  useful  if  you  do  not  follow  them.  The 
Primer  tells  you  how  to  get  some  kind  of  parsnips,  chard, 
spinach,  common  onions,  radishes,  cabbage,  lettuce,  beets, 
tomatoes,  beans,  turnips,  peas,  peppers,  egg  plants,  cucum- 
bers, corn,  and  potatoes. 

Don't  grow  these  things,  unless  it  be  for  your  own  imme- 
diate use.  Every  one  grows  them  and  ripens  them  all  at  the 
same  time.  In  many  places  these  are  given  away  or  thrown 
away  this  year.  Grow  anything  that  every  one  wants  and 
has  not  got,  like  okra,  small  fruits,  etc. ;  you  can  get  a  much 
better  return  in  cash  or  in  trade  than  by  spending  your  time 
"like  other  folks"  who  do  not  think. 

So  I  refer  to  these  directions  for  their  instruction,  and  for 
your  warning.  However,  they  give  the  following  admirable 
injunctions. 


30  THREE  ACRES   AND  LIBERTY 

"Help  Your  Country  and  Yourself  by  Raising  Your  Own 
Vegetables." 

As  we  will  likely  have  to  send  to  Europe  in  coming  years 
as  much  or  even  more  food  than  we  did  last  year,  there  is 
only  one  way  to  avoid  a  shortage  among  our  own  people,  that 
is  by  raising  a  great  deal  more  than  usual.  To  do  this  we 
must  plant  every  bit  of  available  land.  (Of  course,  we 
can't ;  the  owners  won't  let  us.  Ed.) 

If  you  have  a  back  yard,  you  can  do  your  part  and  help  the 
world  and  yourself  by  raising  some  of  the  food  you  eat.  The 
more  you  raise  the  less  you  will  have  to  buy,  and  the  more 
there  will  be  left  for  some  of  your  fellow  countrymen  who 
have  not  an  inch  of  ground  on  which  to  raise  anything. 

If  there  is  a  vacant  lot  in  your  neighborhood,  see  if  you 
cannot  get  the  use  of  it  for  yourself  and  your  neighbors,  and 
raise  your  own  vegetables.  An  hour  a  day  spent  in  this 
way  will  not  only  increase  wealth  and  help  your  family,  but 
will  help  you  personally  by  adding  to  your  strength  and 
well-being  and  making  you  appreciate  the  Eden  joy  of  gar- 
dening. An  hour  in  the  open  air  is  worth  more  than  a  dozen 
expensive  prescriptions  by  an  expensive  doctor. 

The  only  tools  necessary  for  a  small  garden  are  a  spade  or 
spading  fork,  a  hoe,  a  rake,  and  a  line  or  piece  of  cord. 

First  of  all,  clear  the  ground  of  all  rubbish,  sticks,  stones, 
bottles,  etc.  (especially  whisky  bottles). 

Choose  the  sunniest  spot  in  the  yard  for  your  garden. 

Dig  up  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  6  to  10  inches,  using  a  spade 
or  spading  fork.  (Deeper  for  parsnips  and  some  other 
roots.  Ed.)  Break  up  all  the  lumps  with  the  spade  or 
fork. 

If  you  live  in  a  section  where  your  neighbors  have  gardens, 
you  might  club  together  to  hire  a  teamster  for  a  day  to  do 


VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION  31 

the  plowing  and  harrowing  for  you  all,  thus  saving  a  large 
amount  of  labor. 

After  your  garden  has  been  well  dug,  it  must  be  fertilized 
before  any  planting  is  done.  In  order  to  produce  large  and 
well-grown  crops  it  is  often  necessary  to  fertilize  before 
each  planting.  Very  good  prepared  fertilizers  can  be  bought 
at  seed  stores,  but  horse  or  cow  manure  is  much  better,  as  it 
lightens  the  soil  in  addition  to  supplying  plant  food.  Use 
street  sweepings  if  you  can  get  them. 

The  manure  should  be  well  dug  into  the  ground,  at  least 
to  the  full  depth  of  the  top  soil.  The  ground  should  then  be 
thoroughly  raked,  as  seeds  must  be  sown  in  soil  which  has 
been  finely  powdered. 

Lay  out  the  garden,  keeping  the  rows  straight  with  a  line. 
Straight  rows  are  practically  a  necessity,  not  only  for  easier 
culture  but  for  economy  in  space. 

After  you  have  marked  off  your  rows,  the  next  step  is  open- 
ing the  furrow.  (A  furrow  is  a  shallow  trench.)  That  is 
done  with  the  hoe.  (Best  and  quickest  with  a  wheel  hoe. 
Ed.)  After  the  furrow  is  opened,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
seed  be  sown  and  immediately  covered  before  the  soil  has 
dried.  In  covering  the  seeds  the  soil  must  be  firmly  pressed 
down  with  the  foot.  This  is  important. 

In  buying  seed  it  is  best  to  go  to  some  well-established 
seed  house,  or,  if  that  can't  be  done,  to  order  by  mail  rather 
than  to  take  needless  chances.  With  most  kinds  of  seeds 
a  package  is  sufficient  for  a  twenty-foot  row. 

Begin  to  break  up  the  hard  surface  of  the  soil  between  the 
plants  soon  after  they  appear,  using  a  hand  cultivator  or  hoe, 
and  keep  it  loose  throughout  the  season.  This  kills  weeds ; 
it  lets  in  air  to  the  plant  roots  and  keeps  the  moisture  in  the 
ground. 


32  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

By  constantly  stirring  the  top  soil  after  your  plants  appear, 
the  necessity  of  watering  can  be  largely  avoided  except  in 
very  dry  weather.  An  occasional  soaking  of  the  soil  is  better 
than  frequent  sprinkling.  Water  your  garden  either  very 
early  in  the  morning  or  after  sundown.  It  is  better  not  to 
water  when  the  sun  is  shining  hot. 

The  planting  scheme  can  be  altered  to  suit  your  individual 
taste.  For  instance,  peas  and  cabbage  are  included  because 
almost  everybody  likes  to  have  them  fresh  from  their  garden ; 
but  they  occupy  more  space  in  proportion  to  their  value  than 
beets  and  carrots.  Therefore  a  small  garden  could  be  made 
more  profitable  by  omitting  them  altogether,  or  cutting 
them  down  in  amount  and  increasing  the  amount  of  carrots, 
beets,  and  turnips  planted ;  or  any  of  the  vegetables  men- 
tioned which  may  not  be  in  favor  with  the  family  can  be 
left  out. 

The  kind  of  season  we  have  would  change  the  date  of 
planting.  In  raising  vegetables,  as  in  everything  else,  one 
should  use  one's  common  (or  garden  variety  of)  sense.  A 
good  rule  is  to  wait  until  the  ground  has  warmed  up  a  bit. 
Never  try  to  work  in  soil  wet  enough  to  be  sticky,  or  muddy ; 
wait  until  it  dries  enough  to  crumble  readily. 

Gardening  is  not  a  rule  of  thumb  business.  Each  gardener 
must  bring  his  plants  up  in  his  own  way  in  the  light  of  his 
own  experience  and  in  accordance  with  the  conditions  of  his 
own  garden.  A  garden  lover  who  has  a  bit  of  land  will 
speedily  learn  if  his  eyes  and  his  mind,  as  well  as  his  hands, 
are  always  busy,  no  matter  how  meager  his  knowledge  at 
the  beginning. 

There  is  plenty  of  land  —  if  you  can  only  get  it. 

Says  Carl  Vrooman,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
in  regard  to  the  food  problem : 


VACANT  CITY  LOT  CULTIVATION  33 

"Millions  of  acres  of  farm  land  are  being  held  out  of  use  and 
other  millions  of  acres  are  being  cultivated  on  a  wasteful  and 
inefficient  basis.  Land  values  have  risen  at  an  unprecedented  rate. 
They  are  based  not  upon  what  the  farm  will  earn  at  the  present  time, 
but  on  an  expectancy  of  what  it  will  be  worth  in  the  future.  The 
farmer's  son  or  the  tenant  farmer,  with  little  or  no  capital,  cannot 
hope  to  acquire  possession  of  a  farm  when  the  price  of  land  is  so 
high  that  his  earnings  would  not  pay  the  interest  on  the  invest- 
ment. The  result  is  that  land  remains  idle  or  in  the  hands  of  ten- 
ants, and  thousands  of  farmers'  boys  desert  the  country  for  the  city. 

******* 
What  we  need,  and  need  badly,  is  a  program  of  taxation  which, 
without  throwing  additional  burdens  on  the  bona  fide  farmer,  will 
place  land  now  idle  within  the  reach  of  men  of  limited  means  who 
possess  the  ambition  and  the  ability  to  cultivate  it." 

You  can  see  that  poor  ignorant  people,  women,  boys, 
cripples,  old  men,  often  on  less  than  100X150  feet  each, 
not  only  in  Philadelphia,  but  as  war  gardeners  in  New  York, 
and  most  other  towns, -have  been  able  to  support  themselves 
by  their  work  on  the  land.  You  can  do  much  better. 

To  be  sure,  they  had  valuable  land  and  often  seeds  free, 
but  for  such  little  pieces  of  land  these  are  small  items,  and 
many  of  them  had  no  certainty  of  having  the  land  even  for  a 
second  year,  consequently  they  could  not  have  hotbeds  or 
any  permanent  improvement.  You  can  make  all  these 
things. 

Then  what  can  you  do  ?  Only  remember  they  had  intelli- 
gent instruction  and  did  the  work  themselves,  and  got  the 
whole  product ;  often  the  children  helped  —  they  thought 
it  fun.  It  does  not  pay  to  farm  a  small  piece  of  land  where  all 
the  workers  have  to  be  hired.  Nor  does  it  pay  if  one  calcu- 
lates merely  to  stick  in  seeds  with  one  hand  and  pull  out 
profits  with  the  other. 


CHAPTER  V 

RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED 

"  IF  we  get  every  one  out  on  the  farms,  then  there  will  be 
an  over-production  of  farm  products  and  a  fall  in  prices." 

True,  but  there  are  farmers  who  could  do  better  in  towns ; 
what  we  want  to  do  is  to  make  it  easy  for  people  to  get  on 
the  land  about  the  cities,  then  it  would  be  equally  easy  for 
those  farmers  who  are  better  adapted  for  city  life  to  get  near 
the  cities. 

Under  present  conditions,  where  the  worker  is  forced  out 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from  the  town  by  the  high  price  of 
land  and  the  large  amount  of  land  required,  the  farmer  is 
as  much  cut  off  from  the  city  as  the  city  dweller  is  cut  off 
from  rural  life. 

We  need  not  be  afraid  to  teach  men  better  ways ;  there 
will  always  be  plenty  too  stupid  or  too  old  or  too  isolated 
to  learn;  these  will  remain  a  bulwark  against  too  sudden 
change. 

Dr.  Engel,  former  head  of  the  Prussian  Statistical  Bureau, 
informs  us  that  "  Scientific  farming  succeeds  because  a  given 
amount  of  effort,  when  more  intelligently  directed,  produces 
greater  results.  Inasmuch,  then,  as  the  amount  of  food 
which  the  world  can  consume  is  limited,  the  smaller  will 
be  the  number  of  farmers  required  to  produce  the  needed 
supply,  and  the  larger  will  be  the  number  driven  from  the 
country  to  the  city.  It  has  already  been  observed  that  if 

34 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  35 

scientific  methods  were  universally  adopted  in  the  United 
States,  doubtless  one  half  of  those  now  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture could  produce  the  present  crops,  which  would  compel 
the  other  half  to  abandon  the  farm."  This  is  "Engel's 
Law." 

This  "  argument "  assumes  that  we  are  now  utilizing  all  the 
land  possible  and  that  every  one  is  fully  supplied  with  food. 
But  when  we  consider  the  great  masses  of  people  in  the  slums 
of  all  cities  who  are  always  underfed  and  whose  constant 
thought  is  about  their  next  meal;  when  we  see  hundreds 
of  able-bodied  men  waiting  in  line  until  midnight  for  half 
a  loaf  of  stale  bread,  surely  it  seems  that  there  is  a  possi- 
bility of  keeping  all  of  the  present  farmers  at  work,  if  not 
of  finding  new  fields  for  others,  if  we  make  our  conditions 
such  that  there  will  be  opportunities  for  every  able-bodied 
worker  to  labor  at  remunerative  employment. 

Professor  L.  H.  Bailey,  a  most  industrious  and  accurate 
observer,  says :  "  Dr.  Engel's  argument  rests  on  the  assump- 
tion that  agriculture  produces  only  or  chiefly  food ;  but  prob- 
ably more  than  half  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the 
United  States  is  not  food.  It  is  cotton,  flax,  hemp,  wool, 
hides,  timber,  tobacco,  dyes,  drugs,  flowers,  ornamental 
trees  and  plants,  horses,  pets,  and  fancy  stock,  and  hundreds 
of  other  non-edible  commodities.  The  total  food  produce 
of  the  United  States,  according  to  the  twelfth  census,  was 
$1,837,000,000.  The  cost  of  material  used  in  the  three 
industries  of  textile,  lumber  and  leather  manufactories 
alone  was  $1,851,000,000." 

"Dr.  Engel  thinks  that  the  outlay  for  subsistence  dimin- 
ishes as  income  increases ;  but  comforts  and  luxuries  increase 
in  intimate  ratio  with  the  income,  and  the  larger  part  of 
these  come  from  the  farm  and  forest.  Dr.  Engel,  in  fact, 


36  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

allows  this,  for  he  says  that  '  sundries  become  greater  as  in- 
come increases.'" 

We  have  already  abundance  of  information  about  almost 
every  county  in  the  Union,  published  by  Boards  of  Trade 
and  land  boomers,  like  the  following  about  "  Oxnard,  Ventura 
County,  the  center  of  the  famous  lima  bean  district  in  Cali- 
fornia. For  a  year  the  returns  from  farm  products  alone, 
in  this  vicinity,  are  estimated  at  over  $2,000,000.  The  sugar 
factory,  which  uses  2000  tons  of  beets  every  twenty-four 
hours,  requires  the  yield  of  about  1900  acres  every  season. 
The  beet  crop  is  rotated  with  beans,  and  the  factory's  supply 
is  kept  good  by  systematic  methods.  Two  thousand  head 
of  cattle  are  being  fattened  at  the  present  time  in  the  com- 
pany's yard  on  the  beet  pulp.  Much  of  the  pulp  is  also 
sold  to  local  stockmen,  who  value  it  highly  for  feed.  The 
factory  turns  out  5000  bags  of  sugar  every  day."  And 
again : 

"Eastern  farm  lands  steadily  declined  in  price  up  to 
about  1902,  so  that  Eastern  land  sold  for  less  than  Western 
land  of  the  same  quality  and  of  like  situation ;  but  the  tide 
seems  at  last  to  have  turned,  and  much  money  is  now  being 
made  in  buying  up  cheap  farms  and  especially  in  sub-dividing 
them  for  small  cultivators." 

That  sort  of  thing  is  interesting ;  but  it  is  not  what  a  man 
wants  to  know  —  he  is  anxious  to  learn  how  much  he  can 
make  and  where  and  how  to  do  it. 

The  man  who  seeks  a  comfortable  living  will  do  better 
to  rent  on  long  lease  or  buy  a  few  acres  convenient  to  trolley 
or  railroad  communication  with  a  city ;  besides  the  returns 
which  will  come  to  the  farmer  from  the  use  of  a  few  acres, 
if  he  is  the  owner  he  will  get  a  constant  increase  in  the  value 
of  the  land,  due  to  the  growth  of  the  city.  If  the  city  grows 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  37 

out  so  that  the  land  becomes  too  valuable  to  farm,  he  will 
be  well  paid  for  leaving.1 

The  amount  of  product  to  be  grown  for  one's  own  use 
depends  on  the  size  of  the  family  and  its  fondness  for  vege- 
tables. 

"An  area  of  150X100  feet  [about  two  fifths  of  an  acre] 
is  generally  sufficient  to  supply  a  family  of  five  persons  with 
vegetables,  not  considering  the  winter  supply  of  potatoes; 
but  the  acres  must  be  well  tilled  and  handled."  (Bailey, 
"Principles  of  Vegetable  Gardening.") 

"The  produce  that  could  thus  be  obtained  from  an  acre 
of  land  well  situated  would  abundantly  supply  with  nearly 
all  the  vegetables  named,  nineteen  families,  comprising  in 
all  114  individuals."  (Same,  page  43.) 

In  our  garden  we  must  know  what  we  want  and  know 
how  to  get  it.2 

"The  things  to  be  considered  in  the  home  garden  are : 
(1)  a  sufficient  product  to  supply  the  family ;  (2)  continuous 
succession  of  crops ;  (3)  ease  and  cheapness  of  cultivation ; 
(4)  maintenance  of  the  productivity  of  the  land  year  after 
year. 

"  The  ease  and  efficiency  of  cultivation  are  much  enhanced 
if  all  crops  are  in  long  rows,  to  allow  of  wheel-tool  tillage 
either  by  horse  or  wheel-hoe." 

1  Although  progress  is  continually  forcing  laborers  back  upon 
less  desirable  land,  their  loss,  unless  they  are  the  owners,  is  the  land- 
owner's gain. 

1  It  is  impossible  to  treat  exhaustively  of  the  various  crops  in 
a  book  of  this  kind.  On  onion  culture  alone  there  are  four  standard 
books,  besides  seven  or  eight  recent  experimental  station  bulletins. 

"In  a  family  garden  100 X  150  feet  (which  equals  six  New  York 
City  lots),  the  rows  running  the  long  way  of  the  area,  eight  or  ten 
feet  may  be  reserved  along  one  side  for  asparagus,  rhubarb,  sweet 
herbs,  flowers,  and  possibly  a  few  berry  bushes.  A  strip  twenty  feet 


38  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

The  experience  of  the  Vacant  Lot  Gardeners  (Chapter 
IV)  shows  that  if  the  land  be  near  a  large  market  where  the 
product  can  be  peddled  or  sold  by  the  producers  or  by  those 
(as  in  Mr.  Rowe's  case),  with  whom  he  directly  deals,  more 
than  twenty-five  dollars  capital  is  not  necessary,  but  Peter 
Henderson  ("Gardening  for  Profit")  estimates  that  to  get 
the  best  results,  $300  capital  per  acre  is  required  for  anything 
less  than  ten  acres. 

Where  the  land  is  favorably  situated  a  fortune  may  be 
made  in  cultivation  of  a  few  acres  —  with  brains. 

Quinn  says  ("Money  in  the  Garden")  that  he  knows  a 
large  number  of  market  gardeners  worth  from  ten  to  forty 
thousand  dollars  each,  none  of  whom  had  five  hundred  dol- 
lars to  begin  with. 

If  one  has  not  enough  money  to  get  all  that  can  be  gotten 
out  of  his  plot,  it  is  best  to  put  part  of  the  land  into  clover 
to  fit  it  for  later  use  or  to  use  it  for  raising  grass. 

Results  undoubtedly  come  from  hard  work ;  but  it  is  not 
necessary,  in  order  to  cultivate  a  little  land  successfully, 
that  you  should  work  all  day  on  your  hands  and  knees ;  if 
you  can  raise  fruit  or  nuts,  this  is  not  needed  at  all. 

But  for  vegetables  a  certain  amount  of  it  is  necessary — 
when  there  is  a  large  job  of  that  kind  of  weeding  to  be  done, 
you  can  hire  Italians  or  other  foreigners  to  do  it  better  and 
cheaper  than  you  can  do  it  yourself.  Those  who  will  read 
this  book  can  earn  more  with  their  heads  than  their  hands ; 
but  when  weeding  is  needed  after  a  sudden  shower  and  there 

wide  may  be  reserved  for  vines,  as  melons,  cucumbers,  and  squashes. 
There  remains  a  strip  seventy  feet  wide,  or  space  for  twenty  rows 
three  and  one  half  feet  apart.  This  area  is  large  enough  to  allow 
of  appreciable  results  in  rotation  of  crops ;  and  if  it  is  judiciously 
managed,  it  should  maintain  high  productiveness  for  a  lifetime." 
(Bailey,  "Principles  of  Vegetable  Gardening.") 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  39 

is  no  one  else,  you  must  do  some  of  it  yourself ;  the  weather 
will  not  wait  for  you  to  "get  a  man,"  and  if  you  are  not  will- 
ing to  do  such  things,  your  chances  of  success  are  greatly 
lessened. 

Here  is  the  experience  of  one  who  "got  a  man"  : 
"My  garden,  to  begin  with,  was  in  the  most  rudimentary 
condition,  having  been  allowed  to  run  to  grass.  After 
digging  up  a  spot  about  ten  feet  square  in  the  turf,  taking 
the  early  morning  for  the  work,  I  decided  that  it  would  re- 
quire all  summer  to  get  the  garden  fairly  spaded  up,  so  I 
hired  a  stalwart  Irishman  to  do  the  work  for  me,  which  he 
did  in  a  week,  charging  me  nine  dollars  for  the  job.  As  he 
professed  to  be  also  an  expert  in  planting  vegetables,  I 
bought  a  supply  of  seeds  in  the  city  and  intrusted  them  to 
him,  assuring  myself  that  once  in  the  ground  the  rest  of  the 
work  would  fall  to  me ;  if  I  could  not  keep  a  garden  patch 
fifty  feet  square  clear  of  weeds,  I  had  better  abandon  the 
business  at  once,  and  all  hopes  of  making  a  living  out  of 
scientific  gardening.  The  beginning  was  an  unfortunate 
one.  The  weather  happened  to  be  first  very  wet,  and  then 
so  dry  and  hot  that  my  vegetables  were  unable  to  break 
their  way  through  the  baked  earth.  When  my  peas  and 
beans  still  gave  no  signs  after  being  in  the  ground  for  two 
weeks,  I  discovered  that  the  whole  work  would  have  to  be 
done  over  again.  A  Presidential  campaign  was  beginning, 
which  kept  me  in  town  often  late  at  night,  so  that  the  chief 
labor  of  the  garden  fell  to  my  faithful  Irishman,  who  got 
far  more  satisfaction  out  of  it  than  I  did.  The  vegetables 
finally  did  come  up  above  the  surface,  and  many  an  evening 
I  finished  a  hard  day's  work  by  pumping  and  carrying  hun- 
dreds of  gallons  of  water  to  pour  upon  potato  plants,  toma- 
toes, beans,  and  other  things  which  a  friend  of  mine,  an 


40  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

expert  in  such  matters,  assured  me  were  curiosities  of  mal- 
formation and  backwardness.  My  Irishman  told  me  that 
it  was  all  for  want  of  manure,  and  by  his  advice  I  bought 
six  dollars'  worth  of  manure  from  a  neighboring  stable,  and 
had  it  spread  over  the  ground.  The  bills  for  my  garden 
were  meanwhile  mounting  up.  I  had  begun  the  spring 
with  a  garden  ledger,  keeping  an  accurate  account  of  every 
penny  spent,  and  hoping  to  put  on  the  other  side  of  the  page 
a  tremendous  list  of  fine  vegetables.  The  accounts  are 
before  me  now,  and  I  presume  that  every  one  who  has 
been  through  the  same  experience  has  preserved  some  such 
record."  (Naturally,  if  he  began  that  way.)  ("Liberty 
and  a  Living,"  by  P.  G.  Hubert.) 

If  your  idea  of  farming  is  to  bury  "  some  seeds  "  in  untilled 
ground,  regardless  of  suitability,  and  "wait  till  they  come 
up,"  you  will  wait  in  vain  for  a  decent  crop. 

Says  Professor  Roberts  in  the  "Farmstead"  (Macmillan), 
"Mushrooms  sell  at  fifty  cents  per  pound;  maize  for  one 
half  cent  per  pound.  Why?  Because  anybody,  even  a 
squaw,  can  raise  maize,  but  only  a  specially  skilled  gardener 
can  succeed  in  mushroom  culture." 

But  enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  you  must  cultivate 
with  brains.  The  Germans  say,  "What  your  head  won't 
do,  your  legs  have  to." 

"We'll  have  a  little  farm, 

A  pig,  a  horse  and  cow, 
And  you  will  drive  the  wagon 
While  I  drive  the  plow," 

is  very  pretty.  The  horse  and  the  pigs  are  practical,  if  you 
can  take  care  of  them  yourself ;  pigs  are  good  farm  catch-alls. 
If  you  have  to  pay  a  man  to  do  it,  you  had  better  hire  your 
horses  and  buy  your  pork. 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  41 

Two  well-groomed,  healthy  cows,  one  calving  in  the 
spring  and  one  in  the  autumn,  can  be  made  a  source  of  profit, 
and  of  valuable  manure,  if  you  have  land  enough  in  a  neigh- 
borhood where  up-to-date  parents  are  willing  to  pay  ten 
to  twenty  cents  a  quart  for  pure  milk  for  their  infants  or 
even  for  family  use.  But  your  land  and  your  own  baby's 
care  and  milk  will  probably  be  enough  for  you  to  attend  to 
promptly  and  thoroughly  every  day  —  and  night. 

It  is  an  age-old  experience  that  if  we  take  care  of  a  little 
land,  the  land  will  take  care  of  us.  In  Ferrero's  "  Grandezza 
e  Decadenza  di  Roma"  is  an  interesting  account  of  Marcus 
Terentius  Varro's  "De  Re  Rustica."  Varro  wrote  in  the 
year  37  B.C.,  and  as  he  was  then  eighty  years  old,  he  had 
seen  the  transformation  of  Italy  from  an  agricultural  to  a 
manufacturing,  trading  community  and  the  accompanying 
wreck  of  the  old  agricultural  system,  which,  of  course,  he 
laments. 

The  growth  of  vast  landed  estates  largely  held  by  imperial 
favorites,  as  Pliny  said,  destroyed  Italy.  So  fearful  has  the 
destruction  been  that  it  is  only  in  our  generation  that  the 
Campagna  at  Rome,  which  was  once  an  intensely  fruitful 
quilt  of  garden  patches,  has  been  reclaimed  from  the  fever- 
smitten  swamp  to  which  vast  landlordism  had  reduced  it. 

In  the  third  book  of  "De  Re  Rustica,"  Varro  recom- 
mends as  his  remedy,  intensive  cultivation  close  to  the 
cities,  and  the  breeding  of  "fancy  stock,"  including 
pigeons,  snails,  peacocks,  deer,  and  wild  boars. 

He  tells  how  an  aunt  of  his  made  60,000  sesterces  ($3000) 
in  one  year  by  raising  thrushes  for  the  Roman  market,  at 
a  time  when  an  excellent  farm  of  about  200  acres  only  yielded 
30,000  sesterces  per  annum.  He  quotes  another  case  of 
one  who  made  40,000  sesterces  per  annum  from  a  flock  of 


42  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

one  hundred  peacocks,  by  selling  the  eggs  and  the  young. 
Those  old  Roman  women  weren't  so  slow. 

Ferrero  calls  Varro's  work  one  of  the  most  important 
for  the  history  of  ancient  Italy  and  says  historians  have  made 
a  mistake  in  not  reading  it. 

At  the  time  of  the  migration  of  the  barbarians  (350  to 
750  A.D.),  the  lot  of  each  able-bodied  man  was  about  thirty 
morgen  (equal  to  twenty  acres)  on  average  lands,  on  very 
good  ground  only  ten  to  fifteen  morgen  (equal  to  seven  or 
ten  acres),  four  morgen  being  equal  to  one  hectare.  Of  this 
land,  at  least  a  third,  and  sometimes  a  half,  was  left  uncul- 
tivated each  year.  The  remainder  of  the  fifteen  to  twenty 
morgen  sufficed  to  feed  and  fatten  into  giants  the  immense 
families  of  these  child-producing  Germans,  and  this  in  spite 
of  the  primitive  technique,  whereby  at  least  half  the  produc- 
tive capacity  of  a  day  was  lost.  (From  "  The  State,"  by 
Franz  Oppenheimer,  p.  11.) 

In  the  Orange  Judd  prize  contest,  merely  for  the  clearest 
account  of  a  garden,  not  for  results  at  all,  a  number  of  the 
contestants  raised  produce  at  the  rate  of  $150  to  $400  per 
acre  and  over,  even  in  semi-arid  regions ;  for  instance,  L.  E. 
Burnham  says  that  he  raised  on  his  first  garden  of  about 
one  third  of  an  acre  in  eastern  Massachusetts,  garden  stuff 
which  he  sold  to  summer  cottagers  for  $61.69. 

This  took  about  eight  days'  work,  nearly  all  with  a  wheel 
hoe. 

Remember  about  the  present  increased  and  changing  prices 
and  costs  ?  At  the  present  writing,  1917,  the  advances  in  costs 
and  prices  would  probably  average  about  three  quarters,  and 
those  of  common  labor  perhaps  one  third  over  those  given  in 
the  text.  In  other  respects,  the  instances  and  authorities, 
still  pertinent,  have  been  retained  in  this  revision. 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  43 

It  would  have  been  waste,  not  thrift,  to  get  a  new  authority 
to  tell  us  that  straw  makes  the  cleanest  mulch  for  straw- 
berries; that's  the  reason  they  were  called  strawberries, 
and  they  grew  just  the  same  way  ten  years  ago. 

L.  E.  Dimosh  of  Connecticut  raised  on  one  quarter  of  an 
acre  $146.21,  of  which  over  $85  was  profit. 

In  other  cases  the  profits  were  $142  (Gianque,  Nebraska) 
per  acre ;  and  over  $295  (Dora  Dietrich,  Pennsylvania) ; 
with  the  rather  exceptional  profit  at  the  rate  of  $570  (Mrs. 
Hall,  Connecticut).  Some  showed  a  loss. 

Some  of  the  town  or  city  lots  yielded  very  high  profits; 
one  of  a  third  of  an  acre  gave  a  profit  of  $224.33  (Edge 
Darlington,  Md.). 

The  summary  "based  upon  the  reports  of  five  hundred 
and  fifteen  gardens  in  nearly  every  state  and  territory  and 
in  Canada  and  the  provinces,  may  be  considered  accurate 
and  reliable.  Covering  such  a  vast  territory  local  con- 
ditions are  avoided."  It  shows  that  "the  average  size  of 
farm  gardens  was  24,372  square  feet,  or  about  half  an  acre, 
the  average  labor  cost  $26.34,  the  average  value  of  product 
was  at  the  rate  of  $170  per  acre,  and  the  net  profit  over  $80 
per  acre." 

To  get  results  we  must  first  learn  and  then  teach  what  we 
know.  The  finest  game  in  the  world  is  to  teach.  No  one 
ever  knows  anything  thoroughly  till  he  tries  to  teach  it. 

When  you  tell  a  person  how  to  do  a  thing,  he  doesn't 
know  how  to  do  it  himself.  When  you  show  him  how  to  do 
it,  still  he  doesn't  know  that  he  could  do  it  himself.  But 
when  you  get  him  to  do  it  himself,  then  he  knows. 

Country  boys  will  believe  that  early  tomatoes  can  be  raised 
by  starting  them  in  the  house ;  but  like  the  rest  of  us  they 
don't  know  how  to  do  it,  and  when  spring  comes  and  it  is 


44  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

time  to  do  such  things,  they  are  busy  on  the  farm.  There 
are  several  schools  trying  the  experience  of  allowing  the 
children  to  plant  in  window  boxes  in  early  April  and  are  show- 
ing them  how  to  do  it.  But  as  there  is  not  room  for  all  the 
children  to  plant  in  these  window  boxes,  there  is  a  new  idea 
which  originated  in  the  country,  where  the  children  are  en- 
gaged in  the  fall  and  the  spring  assisting  their  parents  at 
agricultural  work. 

It  was  hard  to  get  up  any  interest  in  school  gardens,  but 
it  was  all  the  more  important  that  they  should  have  agri- 
cultural instruction  in  the  winter  time. 

At  Berkeley  Heights,  N.  J.,  we  devised  this  simple  plan, 
and  it  works.  We  made  a  number  of  wooden  boxes,  one 
foot  wide,  two  feet  long,  so  they  will  just  fit  on  the  ledge 
of  a  school  desk.  They  are  only  three  inches  deep,  with  a 
bottom  of  tin,  turned  up  at  the  edges,  or  of  well  painted  pine, 
white-leaded  at  the  joints.  There  is  no  drainage,  since  we 
discovered  that  if  they  are  not  watered  too  much,  they  do 
better  without  drainage.  The  holes  usually  made  in  the 
bottoms  of  flower  boxes  carry  off  a  lot  of  plant  food  with 
the  water  that  runs  through. 

Now,  how  to  store  these  boxes  when  they  are  not  in  the 
sunny  places  near  the  windows  ?  Why,  we  set  up  four  posts 
of  one-inch  stuff  at  the  four  corners,  so  that  the  box  looks 
like  a  kitchen  table  turned  upside  down  (see  illustration). 
Now  the  boxes  filled  with  earth  and  with  the  young  plants 
growing  can  be  stored  at  night,  one  on  top  of  the  other,  by 
the  wall  of  the  schoolroom. 

If  it  is  going  to  be  cold,  and  over  Sundays,  the  pile  of  them 
can  be  covered  with  newspapers,  which  keep  them  from  get- 
ting chilled  and  from  drying  up,  or  the  boxes  can  be  covered 
and  carried  home  by  the  children.  We  found  that  for  most 


RESULTS   TO  BE  EXPECTED  45 

plants  nine  inches  is  high  enough  for  the  posts,  and  that 
well-seasoned  one-inch  lumber  is  heavy  enough  not  to 
warp  if  it  is  painted  inside  and  out,  and  it  is  not  too 
heavy  to  lift. 

By  the  way,  better  paint  the  joints  before  the  sides  are 
nailed  together.  It  makes  them  more  water-tight.  Four 
screws  at  the  corners  will  make  them  still  tighter. 

The  scholars  raise  lettuce,  parsley,  onions,  and  strawberries, 
and  all  kinds  of  small  plants,  as  well  as  flowers,  in  the  winter ; 
and  when  the  plants  get  too  big  or  two  crowded  for  the  boxes, 
they  are  separated  and  transplanted  into  other  boxes  to  be 
taken  home. 

This  was  so  successful  that  we  devised  a  big  window  box 
which  is  suited  for  home  use  also ;  it  is  just  as  wide  as  the 
window  and  half  as  long  again  as  it  is  wide.  But  this  box 
does  not  stand  outside  on  the  window  sill ;  if  it  did,  the  plants 
would  freeze.  One  end  only  rests  on  the  inside  window  sill 
where  it  gets  the  sun ;  the  end  is  supported  by  two  legs  of 
the  same  height  that  the  window  sill  is  from  the  floor. 

When  a  nice  warm  day  comes,  the  other  end  of  the  box 
is  pushed  out  of  the  window  and  the  sash  closed  down  on  it 
to  keep  it  from  falling  out.  A  couple  of  cleats  or  nails  in 
the  window  jamb  help  to  hold  it  in  place. 

Of  course,  the  box  has  to  be  watched  and  taken  in  if  it 
turns  cold,  but  it's  astonishing  how  much  can  be  raised  and 
how  much  more  can  be  learned  out  of  season  by  the  school 
desk  boxes  and  the  home  window  sliding  boxes. 

Try  it  and  see  for  yourself. 

The  children  can  learn  as  much  about  some  things  from  a 
box  2X1  ft.  as  they  can  from  a  children's  garden.  Here 
are  a  couple  of  samples  of  what  the  kids  themselves  in  a  city 
school  think  of  it. 


46  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

"DEPARTMENT   OF  EDUCATION 

"  Office  of  the  Principal  of  Public  School  No.  7 
"  VAN  ALST  AVE.,  ASTORIA,  QUEENS 

"  I  inclose  a  few  compositions  that  were  written  by  some  of 
our  boys  and  girls  of  the  Fourth  Year.  You  will  recognize 
the  descriptions  of  your  Garden  Trays  for  classroom  use. 
Unfortunately  the  free  space  in  the  classroom  is  limited,  so 
we  have  found  it  necessary  to  allow  each  pupil  only  part  of 
a  box. 

"The  children  themselves  are  delighted,  as  you  can  see 
by  their  compositions. 

"  Very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  "AGNES  A.  CORDING 
" Asst.  Principal" 

P.  S.  No.  7 

Grade  4  A  —  April  21, 1915. 
Arthur  Miller,  Age  10 

OUR  GARDEN 

At  first  we  planted  radishes  then  onions  and  lettuce  and 
beans  and  sunflowers.  Each  one  of  us  have  i  of  a  box. 
When  we  had  finished  that  we  brought  them  up  to  the  front 
of  the  room  and  then  watered  them  and  went  home. 

Anna  Duerr,  Age  8 

MY  GARDEN 

I  have  a  garden.  It  is  a  box.  I  have  a  quarter  of  a  box 
for  my  very  own.  My  garden  has  five  rows.  In  the  first 
there  are  radishes,  in  the  second  lettuce,  in  the  third  onions, 
in  the  fourth  beans,  in  the  fifth  sunflowers.  I  hope  my 
garden  grows  up. 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  47 

Of  course  these  are  only  preparatory  for  profitable  work. 
We  have  cases  in  which  $2000  has  been  recorded  from  sales 
in  one  year  from  one  acre,  and  many  cases  in  which  at  least 
$1000  worth  of  produce  has  been  sold  from  an  acre.  These 
are  sales,  not  profits. 

Such  results  are  not  due  to  the  boundless  and  fertile  soil 
of  the  new  world  nor  to  small  farming  alone  —  they  are  due 
to  intelligence. 

Professor  Ronna  gives  the  following  figures  of  crops  per 
acre  at  Romford  (Breton's  Farm) :  28  tons  of  potatoes  (say 
952  bushels),  16  tons  of  marigold,  105  tons  of  beets,  110  tons 
of  carrots,  9  to  20  tons  of  various  cabbages,  and  so  on. 

It  was  suggested  to  the  Agricultural  Department  that  it 
might  fix  standards  of  what  is  a  good  attainable  crop. 

On  every  golf  links  we  have  what  is  called  a  Bogie  score 
posted  up.  That  is  a  score  that  a  certain  mythical  Captain 
Bogie,  supposed  to  be  an  average  good  player,  could  make 
on  those  links.  On  one  typical  club  course,  for  instance, 
the  Bogie  score  is  42.  Though  it  has  been  done  in  37,  the 
ordinary  player  congratulates  himself  when  he  gets  down  to 
the  Bogie  score. 

Now,  if  there  were  standards  attainable  to  ordinary  in- 
telligent and  good  cultivation  set  in  each  section,  it  would 
enormously  encourage  farmers  to  reach  them,  which  may  be 
of  great  importance. 

One  of  the  heads  of  the  Department  replied  as  follows : 

"In  regard  to  fixing  a  standard  for  each  farmer  to  strive 
to  attain,  I  think  that  a  very  good  idea ;  but  the  standard 
for  each  crop  in  each  particular  locality  would  necessarily 
be  somewhat  different  from  that  in  every  other  locality. 
Persons  who  have  had  experience  in  experimental  work 
keenly  appreciate  these  points.  The  work  which  is  done 


48  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

upon  one  soil  formation  under  different  climatic  conditions 
in  one  season,  does  not  necessarily  find  a  duplicate  in  any 
other  locality,  and  the  experience  is  that  what  is  accomplished 
in  one  year  would  not  be  duplicated  on  the  same  soil  and 
under  the  same  management  again  in  several  years,  for  the 
conditions  under  which  agriculture  is  carried  on  are  so  many 
of  them  outside  of  the  control  of  the  operator  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  predict  results  or  to  attain  any  fixed  standard. 
This  is  necessarily  so  with  an  operation  which  has  so  many 
uncertain  factors  to  deal  with  as  agriculture.  Humidity 
of  the  atmosphere  and  of  the  soil,  the  available  plant  food 
in  the  soil,  methods  of  tillage,  fertilizers  used,  recurrence  of 
frosts,  amount  of  sunlight,  the  altitude  and  latitude  of 
different  localities,  all  have  a  bearing  upon  crop  production. 
It  is,  therefore,  very  difficult  to  fix  any  approximate  standard 
or  average  production  for  any  particular  locality  without 
basing  it  upon  a  long  series  of  years.  I  think,  however, 
that  it  is  a  subject  worthy  of  agitation,  and  it  might  inspire 
agriculturists  to  better  work  were  such  an  ideal  fixed  upon." 

This  indicates  that  each  experiment  station  or  progressive 
farmer  or  teacher  of  agriculture  might  advantageously  estab- 
lish the  local  "Bogie  score"  of  what  might  fairly  be  expected. 

We  know  how  misleading  averages  are.  The  man  who 
tried  to  wade  across  a  stream  whose  average  depth  was  two 
feet,  was  drowned.  "The  writer  used  to  go  to  a  fishing 
club  of  which  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  was  a  member.  One  of 
the  standard  jokes  there  was  that  the  thirty  members  are 
worth  on  an  average  over  two  million  apiece,  that  is,  Cor- 
nelius sixty  millions,  and  the  rest  of  us  (comparatively) 
nothing.  Which  are  you  to  be?  A  Vanderbilt  among 
cultivators,  or  the  other  fellow  who  makes  the  'average'?" 
("  Money  Making  in  Free  America, "  by  the  Author.) 


RESULTS  TO  BE  EXPECTED  49 

But  even  making  all  allowances  we  see  that  we  must 
cultivate  much  better  than  the  "  average,"  to  make  anything 
more  than  the  farmer's  hard  living  off  the  land.  Peter 
Dunne  tells  us  what  kind  of  a  grind  that  is. 

"This  pa-aper  says  th'  farmer  niver  sthrikes.  He  hasn't 
got  th'  time  to.  He's  too  happy.  A  farmer  is  continted 
with  his  farm  lot.  There's  nawthin'  to  take  his  mind 
off  his  wurruk.  He  sleeps  at  night  with  his  nose  against 
th'  shingled  roof  iv  his  little  frame  home  an'  dhreams  iv  cinch 
bugs.  While  th'  stars  are  still  alight  he  walks  in  his  sleep 
to  wake  th'  cows  that  left  th'  call  f'r  four  o'clock.  Thin 
it's  ho !  f'r  feedin'  th'  pigs  an'  mendin'  th'  reaper.  Th' 
sun  arises  as  usual  in  th'  east,  an'  bein'  a  keen  student  iv 
nature  he  picks  a  cabbage  leaf  to  put  in  his  hat.  Break- 
fast follows,  a  gay  meal  beginnin'  at  nine  an'  endin'  at  nine- 
three.  Thin  it's  off  f'r  th'  fields  where  all  day  he  sets  on  a 
bicycle  seat  an'  reaps  the  bearded  grain  an'  th'  Hessian  fly, 
with  nawthin'  but  his  own  thoughts  an'  a  couple  iv  horses 
to  commune  with.  An'  so  he  goes  an'  he's  happy  th'  live- 
long day  if  ye  don't  get  in  ear-shot  iv  him.  In  winter  he 
is  employed  keeping  th'  cattle  fr'm  sufferin'  his  own  fate 
an'  writin'  testymonyals  iv  dyspepsia  cures."  ("Mr. 
Dooley  Says.") 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE 

WE  have  shown  what  an  acre  has  produced.  You  must 
figure  out  for  yourself  what  you  can  make  your  acres  pro- 
duce and  what  the  product  can  be  sold  for. 

All  progress  hi  agriculture  has  come  heretofore  through 
experiments,  made  mostly  by  uninformed  and  untrained  men. 
What  may  not  be  done  by  practical  learning  and  applied 
intelligence  ? 

The  wonderful  recent  advances  have  been  made  in  just 
that  way. 

"The  modern  unproved  methods  in  agriculture,  known 
collectively  as  intensive  fanning,  have  nearly  all  had  their 
origin  in  the  hands  of  truck  farmers  and  market  gardeners. 
No  class  of  the  rural  population  is  more  alert  hi  utilizing  the 
newest  researches  and  discoveries  hi  all  lines  of  agricultural 
science,  and  none  keeps  in  closer  touch  with  the  agricultural 
colleges  and  experiment  stations."  ("Development  of  the 
Trucking  Interests,"  by  F.  S.  Earle.) 

Still,  it  is  not  advisable  for  the  ordinary  city  dweller,  how- 
ever intelligent,  without  other  means  and  without  either 
experience  or  study,  to  cast  himself  upon  a  small  patch  of 
ground  for  a  living ;  but  if  he  can  give  it  most  of  his  time 
mornings  and  evenings,  or  if  he  sees,  as  many  do,  that  he 
will  be  forced  out  of  a  position,  it  would  be  well  for  him 
seriously  to  consider  intensive  cultivation  as  a  resource. 

50 


WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE  51 

It  would  be  the  greatest  blessing  to  our  day  laborers  if 
they  could  secure  an  acre  of  land  which  they  could  till  in 
conjunction  with  their  other  labor.  If  time  and  change  so 
works  upon  society  as  to  put  the  laborer  out  of  a  job,  he  will 
be  safe  in  his  acre  home  and  can  live  from  it  and  be  happy 
and  contented. 

The  time  required  to  cultivate  an  acre  is  much  less  than 
is  generally  supposed. 

The  maximum  tune  required  seems  to  be  that  given  in 
the  University  of  Illinois  Experiment  Station  at  Urbana, 
Bulletin  61,  by  J.  W.  Lloyd,  at  the  rate  of  140  hours  (say 
14  days)  with  one  horse  and  250  hours  (say  25  days)  for 
hand  labor.  With  a  great  variety  of  crops,  or  with  poor 
labor  add  one  half  to  this  time  allowance.  The  results  vary 
greatly. 

An  acre  of  northeastern  Long  Island  will  produce  250  to 
400  bushels  of  potatoes  at  a  selling  price  of  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  cents  per  bushel,  which  wholesale,  at  those  figures 
much  below  present  prices,  bring  an  income  of  $125  to  $300 
to  the  grower.  The  actual  cash  outlay  in  one  instance  was : 

Seed  Potatoes $10.00 

Commercial  Fertilizer 13.00 

Spraying  for  blight  and  pests 4.00 

$27.00 

250  bu.  selling  at  the  minimum  price $125.00 

Less  the  cash  outlay 27.00 

Income  to  the  grower  from  an  acre $98.00 

A  production  of  400  bushels  costs  no  more  cash  outlay 
per  acre,  while  the  income  is  big  wages  to  the  farmer.1 

1  If  but  one  acre  be  grown  and  hand  labor  is  used,  the  labor  might 
cost  an  average  of  $40  per  acre,  with  wages  at  $1.35  to  $1.50  per 
day,  and  if  the  produce  is  shipped  any  distance  by  rail  and  con- 


52  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

An  acre  will  bear  if  devoted  to  each  crop,  of : 

Blackberries,  10,000  qt.,  which  at  7c.  a  qt.  would  bring  .      $700.00 

Dewberries,  9000  qt.,  say  at  7c.  a  qt 630.00 

Gooseberries,  250  bu.  at  $2.00  a  bu 500.00 

Strawberries,  8000  qt.  at  5c.  a  qt 400.00 

Currants,  3000  plants  yield  6000  bu 200.00 

Raspberries,  per  acre $200.00  to  600.00 

Peaches,  per  acre 200.00  to  400.00 

Pears,  per  acre 200.00  to  500.00 

Apples,  per  acre 100.00  to  500.00 

Grapes 100.00 

Five,  or  even  three  acres  will  give  a  good  living  if  this 
can  be  approximated : 
An  acre  will  produce  in  vegetables  —  either 

Asparagus,  3000  bunches  at  20c.  a  bunch,  would  be     .     .  $600.00 

Cauliflower,  100  to  300  bbl.  at  $1.50,  say        450.00 

Onions,  600  bu.  at  75c.  per  bu 450.00 

Cabbage  Seed,  1000  Ib.  at  40c.  a  Ib 400.00 

Brussels  Sprouts,  3000  qt.  at  lOc.  a  qt 300.00 

Celery,  6000  bunches  at  5c.  a  bunch 300.00 

Parsnips,  300  bu.  at  $1.00  a  bu 300.00 

Lettuce,  9000  heads  at  3c.  a  head 270.00 

Lima  Beans,  50  bu.  at  $5.00  a  bu 250.00 

We  may  hope  to  get  from  an  acre,  respectively,  in 

Potatoes,  300  bu.  at  75c.  a  bu.,  would  be $225.00 

Cabbages,  20  tons  at  $10.00  a  ton          200.00 

Carrots  and  Beets,  200  to  400  bu 150.00 

Tomatoes,  200  crates  at  75c.  a  crate 150.00 

Early  Peas,  50  bu.  at  $2.00  a  bu 100.00 

Turnips,  400  bu.  at  25c.  a  bu 100.00 

Spinach,  100  bbl.  at  50c.  a  bbl 50.00 

signed,  it  would  cost  $40  to  $50  to  pay  selling  charges,  leaving  you 
a  profit  of  about  $30  per  acre  on  this  crop.  Other  crops  in  the  rota- 
tion might  not  be  so  profitable,  hence  it  is  not  fair  to  figure  an  in- 
come on  one.  But,  of  course,  in  the  above  estimate,  we  are  consid- 
ering mainly  the  cases  where  the  gardener  does  the  work  and  earns 
the  wages  himself. 


WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE  53 

Mr.  D.  L.  Hartman,  whose  experience  in  the  North  is 
given  on  a  later  page,  has  since  moved  to  Little  River,  Florida. 
He  writes  in  1917  : 

"I  have  recently  sold  the  last  strawberries  of  a  small 
plot.  Owing  to  a  combination  of  circumstances  it  pro- 
duced, I  think,  the  largest  value  per  area  of  any  crop  I  have 
ever  cultivated.  The  main  factors  were  high  prices  realized 
and  heavy  yield. 
Area  of  plot,  a  trifle  over  one  fifth  acre.  Total  yield,  2295 

quarts,  total  receipts,  $4703.80. 
First  berries  picked  January  2nd ;  last  berries  picked  June 

26th;  Variety,  Brandywine. 

"This  shows  a  yield  of  11,107  quarts  per  acre  worth  at 
the  same  rate,  $3398.00. 

"  The  fruit  was  all  sold  to  stores  in  Miami  (five  miles  dis- 
tant) and  brought  an  average  you  notice  of  30f  cents  per 
quart  for  the  crop,  the  highest  bringing  fifty  cents  per 
quart.  The  average  price  during  the  ordinary  seasons  is 
about  twenty  cents  per  quart.  My  ordinary  average  yield 
is  less  than  half  of  this  yield  or  about  5000  quarts  per  acre, 
and  that  is  much  above  the  average  of  most  yields  of  other 
growers.  The  crop  was  started  with  northern  plants,  set 
just  as  for  matted  rows  in  the  North,  then  early  in  November 
plants  were  dug  up  and  set  out  in  order  in  rows  12  inches 
apart  and  8-3-  inches  apart  in  the  row,  leaving  every  fifth 
row  vacant  for  paths.  It  is  super  close  culture;  one  plant 
per  square  foot  for  the  total  area  or  a  little  more. 

"  I  often  think  that  if  I  were  operating  in  the  North  again 
I  would  like  to  try  strawberries  the  same  way,  except  that 
I  would  do  the  transplanting  September  1st  instead  of  No- 
vember 1st  as  here,  since  I  would  expect  them  to  grow  larger 
and  of  course  I  would  plan  to  mulch  them  during  the  winter. 


54  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

It  would  take  a  lot  of  planting  but  I  think  it  would  insure  a 
tremendous  yield.  I  find  that  the  digging  and  planting 
including  watering  of  1500  plants  makes  ten  hours'  work, 
with  elimination  of  all  waste  motion." 

You  will  not  get  as  good  results  as  Mr.  Hartman's  average, 
unless  you  learn  as  much  as  he  has  learned ;  he  has  succeeded 
by  well-directed  work  in  different  places  and  circumstances. 

The  South  and  West  are  not  the  only  places  in  the  United 
States  where  a  man  can  live  on  one  acre  of  ground,  by  in- 
tensive culture  and  with  irrigation.  The  Eastern  and 
Middle  States  can  present  just  as  good,  if  not  better,  op- 
portunities, especially  where  land  in  small  tracts  is  available 
near  the  large  cities.1 

At  Hyde  Park,  a  little  village  three  miles  north  of  Read- 
ing, Pa.,  there  is  a  small  farm  owned  by  Oliver  R.  Shearer, 
who  may  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  successful  farmers  in 
the  United  States.  This  farm  contains  3£  acres,  only  2£  of 
which  are  cultivated,  but  they  yield  the  owner  annually 
from  $1200  to  $1500.  From  the  profits  of  his  intensive 
farming,  Mr.  Shearer  has  paid  $3800  for  his  property, 
which,  besides  the  land,  consists  of  a  modern  two-story  brick 
house,  with  barn,  chicken-yard,  and  orchard,  the  whole 
surrounded  by  a  neat  fence.  He  has  also  raised  and  educated 
a  family  of  three  children. 

1  The  Farmers'  Advocate  (Topeka,  Kansas)  says  of  lands  which 
ten  years  ago  were  among  the  much  advertised  "abandoned  farms" 
of  the  eastern  states:  "All  over  the  eastern  states  where  farming 
twenty  years  ago  was  pronounced  a  failure  under  western  competi- 
tion, there  has  sprung  up  this  intensive  cultivation.  Violets  are 
grown  in  one  place  and  tuberoses  by  the  acre  in  another.  Celery 
is  making  one  man's  large  profit  near  Williamsburg.  Special  fruits 
are  cultivated.  Currants  are  grown  by  the  ton  and  sold  by  the 
pound,  yielding  a  profit.  This  is  in  progress  over  the  entire  range 
of  farming." 


WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE  55 

There  are  no  secrets,  Mr.  Shearer  says,  about  his  method 
of  farming.  A  study  of  conditions,  the  application  of  com- 
mon-sense methods  and  untiring  energy,  he  asserts,  will 
enable  others  to  do  what  he  has  done,  but  that  most  men 
would  kill  themselves  with  the  work. 

In  an  agricultural  exchange  a  small  farmer  tells  that  he 
makes  a  living  and  saves  some  money  from  a  ten-acre  farm. 
Before  he  was  through  paying  for  his  land,  which  cost  $100 
an  acre,  building  his  house,  fences,  and  outbuildings,  he  went 
in  debt  $1300,  having  about  the  same  amount  to  start  with. 
He  is  near  a  good  market,  and  in  five  years  has  paid  off  the 
debt,  and  has  been  getting  ahead  ever  since.  He  raises  poul- 
try and  small  fruits,  and  says  that  it  is  a  good  combination,  as 
most  of  the  work  with  poultry  comes  in  winter,  while  he  can  do 
nothing  out  of  doors.  He  maintains  that  a  ten-acre  farm 
rightly  managed  will  bring  a  good  living,  including  the  com- 
forts and  some  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  and  says  :  "  This  I  have 
fully  demonstrated,  and  what  I  have  done  others  may  do." 

Maxwell's  Talisman  says : 

"E.  J.  O'Brien  of  Citronelle,  Alabama,  received  $170  clear 
from  an  acre  of  cucumbers  shipped  to  the  St.  Louis  market. 
He  was  two  weeks  late  in  getting  them  on  the  market.  He 
says  those  two  weeks  would  have  meant  nearly  double  the 
net  returns.  He  does  not  consider  this  an  extraordinary  re- 
turn and  hopes  to  do  better  next  year." 

"Professor  Thomas  Shaw  writes  of  a  plot  of  ordinary 
ground  in  Minnesota  comprising  the  nineteenth  part  of  an 
acre,  which  for  years  kept  a  family  of  six  matured  persons 
abundantly  supplied  with  vegetables  all  the  year,  with  the 
exception  of  potatoes,  celery,  and  cabbage.  In  addition, 
much  was  given  away,  more  especially  of  the  early  varieties, 
and  in  many  instances  much  was  thrown  away." 


56  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

"In  the  market-gardens  of  Florida  we  see  such  crops  as 
445  to  600  bushels  of  onions  per  acre,  400  bushels  of  to- 
matoes, 700  bushels  of  sweet  potatoes;  which  testify  to  a 
high  development  of  culture."  (Same,  page  101.) 

We  select  from  Bailey's  "Principles  of  Vegetable  Garden- 
ing "  the  following  general  estimates : 

Beets  —  Average  crop  is  300-400  bushels  per  acre. 

Carrots  —  Good  crop  is  200-300  bushels  per  acre. 

Cabbage  —  8000  heads  per  acre. 

Potatoes  —  The  yield  of  potatoes  averages  about  75 
bushels  per  acre,  but  with  forethought  and  good  tillage  and 
some  fertilizer  the  yield  should  run  from  200  to  300  bushels, 
and  occasionally  yields  will  much  exceed  the  latter  figure. 

Rhubarb  —  From  2  to  5  stalks  are  tied  in  a  bunch  for  mar- 
ket, and  an  acre  should  produce  3000  dozen  bunches. 

Salsify  —  Good  crop  200-300  bushels  per  acre. 

Onions  —  A  good  crop  of  onions  is  300-400  bushels  to  the 
acre,  but  600-800  are  secured  under  the  very  best  conditions. 

The  price  per  ton  for  horseradish  varies  from  ten  to  fifty 
dollars,  and  from  two  to  four  tons  should  be  raised  on  an 
acre,  the  latter  quantity  when  the  ground  is  deep  and  rich 
and  when  the  plants  do  not  suffer  for  moisture. 

Averages  are  very  misleading  and  it  would  be  better  to 
pay  little  attention  to  them.  They  are  like  the  average 
wealth  possessed  by  a  class  of  twenty  schoolchildren.  The 
schoolmaster  who  had  $20  asked  what  was  the  average 
wealth  of  each,  if  the  total  wealth  of  the  class  was  $20.  The 
brightest  boy  answered,  "One  dollar."  The  schoolmaster 
asked  Tommy  at  the  foot  of  the  class  if  he  did  not  think  they 
would  be  a  prosperous  class.  He  answered,  "  It  depends  on 
who  has  the  'twenty.'" 

But,  all  the  more,  good  averages  imply  some  wonderful 


WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE  57 

yields.  The  following  are  actual  averages  in  the  United 
States  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  Census  Report,  respectively. 

Flowers  and  plants,  $2014  and  $1911 ;  nursery  products, 
$170  and  $261 ;  sugar  cane,  $87  (4  tons  per  acre)  and 
$5540;  small  fruits,  $81  and  $110;  hops,  $72  (885  Ib.  per 
acre)  and  $175 ;  sweet  potatoes,  $37  (79  bu.  per  acre)  and 
$55 ;  hemp,  $34  (794  Ib.  per  acre)  and  $54 ;  potatoes,  $33 
(96  bu.  per  acre)  and  $45;  sugar  beets,  $30  (7  tons  per 
acre)  and  $54;  sorghum  cane,  $21  (1  ton  per  acre)  and 
$23;  cotton,  $15  (4-10  bale  per  acre)  and  $25.70;  flaxseed, 
$9  (9  bu.  per  acre)  and  $14;  cereals,  $8  and  $11.40. 

Specialties,  however,  often  do  much  better.  For  example, 
R.  B.  Handy,  in  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  60,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  tells  us  that  a  prominent  and 
successful  New  Jersey  grower  says : 

"  I  cannot  give  the  cost  hi  detail  of  establishing  asparagus 
beds,  as  so  much  would  depend  upon  whether  one  had  to 
buy  the  roots,  and  upon  other  matters.  Where  growers 
usually  grow  roots  for  their  own  planting  the  cost  is  prin- 
cipally the  labor,  manure,  and  the  use  of  land  for  two  years 
upon  which,  however,  a  half  crop  can  be  had. 

"  The  cost  of  maintaining  a  bed  can  only  be  estimated  per 
acre  as  follows: 

Manure  (applied  in  the  spring) $25.00 

Labor,  plowing,  cultivating,  hoeing,  etc 20.00 

Cutting  and  bunching 40.00 

Fertilizer  (applied  after  cutting)        15.00 

Total $100.00 

"An  asparagus  bed  well  established,  say  five  years  after 
planting,  when  well  cared  for  should,  for  the  next  ten  or 
fifteen  years,  yield  from  1800  to  2000  bunches  per  annum, 
or  at  10  cents  per  bunch  (factory  price)  $180  to 


58  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

"If  the  rent,  labor,  etc.,  for  a  crop  of  asparagus  is  $200 
per  acre,  and  the  crop  is  three  tons  of  green  shoots  at  $100 
per  ton,  on  the  farm,  the  profit  is  $100  per  acre.  If  we 
get  six  tons  at  $100  per  ton,  the  profit,  less  the  extra  cost  of 
labor  and  manure,  is  $400  per  acre."  ("Food  for  Plants," 
by  Harris  and  Myers,  page  19.) 

Around  Bethlehem,  Indiana,  the  farmers  raise  hundreds 
of  tons  of  sunflower  seed  every  year,  and  the  industry  pays 
better  than  anything  else  in  the  farming  line.  A  good  deal 
of  the  seed  is  made  into  condition  powder  for  stock,  occa- 
sionally some  is  made  into  so-called  "  olive  oil "  which  is 
said  to  surpass  cotton-seed  oil.  Large  quantities  are  used 
for  feeding  parrots  and  poultry,  or  consumed  by  the  Rus- 
sian Hebrews  who  eat  them  as  we  would  eat  peanuts. 

A  careful  investigation  made  in  1898  of  the  value  of  cer- 
tain productions  taken  from  farms  in  New  York  State  shows 
that  the  culture  of  apples  is  very  profitable.  From  twenty 
adjoining  farms  in  one  neighborhood  in  western  New  York, 
the  report  gave  an  average  annual  return  of  $85  per  acre  at 
the  orchard,  covering  a  period  of  five  years.  Another 
report  gave  an  average  of  $110  annual  income  per  acre  for 
three  years,  and  these  results  were  obtained  where  only 
ordinary  care  was  given  to  the  orchard.  But  note  this.  — 

One  orchard,  where  the  trees  had  been  well  sprayed  to 
protect  the  fruit  from  insect  injuries,  and  the  soil  well  cul- 
tivated and  properly  fertilized,  gave  a  return  in  one  year  of 
$700  per  acre,  and  for  three  years  an  average  income  of  $400 
per  acre. 

One  man  bought  a  farm  of  100  acres  in  Central  New 
York  with  a  much-neglected  orchard  upon  it  of  SO^acres, 
paying  $5000  for  the  whole.  He  cultivated  the  orchard, 
pruned  and  sprayed  the  trees  thoroughly,  and  in  seven  months 


WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE  59 

from  the  time  he  purchased  the  farm,  sold  the  apple  crop 
from  it  for  $6000  cash. 

"Peanuts:  Culture  and  Uses,"  by  R.  B.  Handy  in  Far- 
mers' Bulletin  No.  25  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  says: 

"According  to  the  Census  the  average  yield  of  peanuts 
in  the  United  States  was  17.6  bushels  per  acre,  the  average 
in  Virginia  being  about  20,  and  in  Tennessee  32  bushels  per 
acre.  This  appears  to  be  a  low  average,  especially  as  official 
and  semiofficial  figures  give  50  to  60  bushels  as  an  average 
crop,  and  100  bushels  is  not  an  uncommon  yield.  Fair 
peanut  land  properly  manured  and  treated  to  intelligent  ro- 
tation of  crops  should  produce  in  an  ordinary  season  a 
yield  of  50  bushels  to  the  acre  and  from  1  to  2  tons  of  ex- 
cellent hay.  (Of  course  better  land  with  more  liberal  treat- 
ment and  a  favorable  season  will  produce  heavier  crops,  the 
reverse  being  true  of  lands  which  have  been  frequently 
planted  with  peanuts  without  either  manuring  or  rotation  of 
crops.)  Besides  the  amount  of  peanuts  gathered,  there  are 
always  large  quantities  left  in  the  ground  which  have  es- 
caped the  gathering,  and  on  these  the  planter  turns  his  herd 
of  hogs,  so  that  there  is  no  waste  of  any  part  of  the  plant." 

Tobacco  is  a  paying  crop  if  the  soil  is  just  right.  Two 
thousand  pounds  per  acre  can  be  raised  on  favorable  sites. 
Connecticut  tobacco  brings,  in  ordinary  times,  from  twenty  to 
thirty  cents  a  pound ;  from  four  to  over  six  hundred  dollars 
being  the  possible  return. 

Some  Connecticut  soils  raise  Sumatra  tobacco  equal  to 
the  imported  crop  that  sells  in  this  country  at  fancy  prices. 
The  Department  of  Agriculture  claims  that  the  Cuban 
type  of  tobacco  can  be  closely  approximated  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio. 


60  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  soil  is  of  paramount 
importance  in  tobacco  raising.  The  Department  has  pre- 
pared soil  maps  of  most  of  the  important  tobacco  districts 
of  the  United  States.  If  you  think  your  land  may  be  suited 
to  tobacco,  apply  there  for  information.  You  may  make 
your  land  invaluable. 

D.  L.  Hartman,  Rural  New  Yorker,  gave  the  following  facts 
and  figures :  "  During  last  season  the  sales  from  one  acre  of 
early  tomatoes  amounted  to  $454,  and  from  a  trifle  more  than 
two  and  one  half  acres,  including  the  acre  of  'earlies/  the 
remainder  mid-season  and  late  plantings,  the  total  sales 
amounted  to  over  $900.  From  a  little  less  than  one  acre  and 
a  half  $555  worth  of  strawberries  were  sold,  while  the  re- 
turns from  early  cabbages  during  the  last  few  years  have 
been  at  the  rate  of  about  $300  per  acre.  These  statements 
are  not  made  in  the  spirit  of  challenge.  The  results  are 
gratifying  to  me,  because  larger  than  anticipated ;  but  much 
greater  values  can  be  and  are  produced.  In  fact,  the  limit 
of  value  that  may  be  grown  on  an  acre  of  land  no  one  can  tell. 
I  have  a  small  plot  of  ground  containing  less  than  one  sixth 
of  an  acre,  planted  one  year  with  radishes  and  lettuce,  fol- 
lowed by  eggplant  and  cauliflower,  and  the  next  year  to  rad- 
ishes alone,  followed  by  egg-plant,  and  each  year  the  total 
sales  amounted  to  over  $200,  at  the  rate  of  $1200  per  acre. 
Greatly  exceeding  even  this  was  a  smaller  plot,  measuring 
20  X  65  feet,  last  year,  planted  first  to  pansies,  plants  sold 
when  in  bloom,  followed  by  radishes,  of  which  one  half 
proved  to  be  a  worthless  variety  (it  lay  idle  long  enough  to 
have  produced  another  crop  of  radishes),  then  half  was  planted 
to  late  lettuce,  the  other  half  being  sown  for  winter  cabbage, 
plants  yielding  no  cash  return.  Yet  the  total  sales  for  the 
season  from  this  small  plot,  less  than  one  thirty-second  of  an 


WHAT  AN  ACRE  MAY  PRODUCE  61 

acre,  was  $86.78,  at  the  rate  of  the  surprising  sum  of  $2780 
per  acre,  and  could  easily  have  been  raised  to  the  rate  of 
$4000,  and  that  without  the  use  of  any  glass  whatever. 
Truly  the  possibilities  of  the  soil  are  unknown." 

The  cooperative  features  used  by  Northeastern  Long 
Island  intensive  farmers  are  worthy  of  imitation.  In  the 
community  of  Riverhead  a  club  buys  at  wholesale  rates 
commodities  which  the  farm  and  household  require.  The 
club  does  a  large  business,  and  has  a  high  rating  in  the  com- 
mercial agencies.  In  another  instance  at  Riverhead  an 
association  markets  the  crop  of  cauliflower,  sending  cars  of 
such  produce  to  Cincinnati  and  Chicago.  These  are  the 
best  forms  of  cooperation. 

"In  the  market-gardening  sections  the  banks  show  pros- 
perity. In  the  towns  of  Riverhead  and  Southold  there  are 
savings  banks  with  deposits  of  $4,000,000  each,  and  five 
business  banks  which  are  doing  a  thriving  business.  In 
this  stretch  of  thirty  miles  on  eastern  Long  Island  the  farms 
are  mostly  free  from  encumbrance  of  any  kind. 

"It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  their  towns  have  the 
open  Sound  with  its  bays  which  furnish  open  ways  for  trans- 
portation and  an  unowned  field  for  work."  (From  circular 
of  the  Long  Island  Guild  of  New  York  City.) 


CHAPTER  VII 

SOME  METHODS 

WE  must  not  put  all  our  time  into  one  crop  unless  we  are 
rich  enough  to  do  OUT  own  insurance ;  for  drought,  or  damp, 
or  accident,  ill-adapted  seed,  or  general  unfavorable  con- 
ditions may  make  failures  of  one  or  more  crops.  But  in 
variety  and  succession  of  crops  is  safety  and  profit.  In 
order  to  succeed,  crop  must  be  made  to  follow  crop,  so  that 
the  ground  is  used  to  its  full  capacity.  To  leave  it  fallow 
for  even  a  week  is  to  invite  weeds  and  to  lose  much  of  the 
advantage  of  tillage,  as  well  as  so  much  time. 

In  the  North,  seeds  of  many  kinds  should  be  sown  from 
the  first  of  March  to  the  first  of  August ;  in  the  South  they 
should  be  sown  in  every  month. 

By  following  the  simple  time  tables  for  planting  you  will 
find  work  ready  and  crops  maturing  and  ready  for  sale  in 
every  month  in  the  year. 

There  is  an  admirable  table  of  the  time  to  plant,  given  in 
"How  to  Make  a  Vegetable  Garden,"  though  it  does  embrace 
some  weird  vegetables,  explaining,  for  instance,  that  "Pats- 
choi  is  used  like  chards,"  and  that  "Scolymus  is  sowed  like 
Scorzonera." 

One  can  live  while  waiting  for  the  crops  to  come  up,  for 
many  crops  mature  rapidly. 

Specialties  give  employment  only  during  a  few  months 
of  each  year  and  bring  returns  only  at  periods  of  the  year, 

62 


SOME  METHODS  63 

but  the  returns  can  be  made  almost  immediate  and  the  work 
almost  continuous. 
Long  Island  and  Jersey  farmers  in  marketing  their  crops  sell 

Spinach  and  Radishes in  April 

Peas,  Early  Onions,  and  Lettuce in  May 

Asparagus  and  Strawberries in  June 

Tomatoes,  Cucumbers,  and  Cabbage  Seeds    ...  in  July 

Early  Potatoes,  Peaches,  and  Beans in  August 

Onions  and  Potatoes in  September 

Celery       in  October 

Cauliflower in  November 

Cauliflower  and  Brussels  Sprouts in  December 

Cauliflower  and  Brussels  Sprouts in  January 

Brussels  Sprouts in  February 

Brussels  Sprouts in  March 

This  order  of  crops  can  be  varied  to  suit  conditions. 

"The  old  practice  of  growing  vegetables  in  beds  usually 
entails  more  labor  and  expense  than  the  crop  is  worth ;  and 
it  has  had  the  effect  of  driving  more  than  one  boy  from  the 
farm.  These  beds  always  need  weeding  on  Saturdays,  holi- 
days, circus  days,  and  the  Fourth  of  July.  Even  if  the 
available  area  is  only  twenty  feet  wide,  the  rows  should 
run  lengthwise  and  be  far  enough  apart  (from  one  to  two 
feet  for  small  stuff)  to  allow  of  the  use  of  the  hand  wheel- 
hoes,  many  of  which  are  very  efficient.  If  land  is  available 
for  horse-tillage,  none  of  the  rows  should  be  less  than  thirty 
inches  apart,  and  for  late  growing  things,  as  large  cabbage, 
four  feet  is  better.  If  the  rows  are  long,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  grow  two  or  three  kinds  of  vegetables  in  the  same  row ; 
in  this  case  it  is  important  that  vegetables  requiring  the  same 
general  treatment  and  similar  length  of  season  be  grown  to- 
gether. For  example,  a  row  containing  parsnips  and  sal- 
sify, or  parsnips,  salsify,  and  late  carrots  would  afford  an 
ideal  combination ;  but  a  row  containing  parsnips,  cabbages, 


64  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

and  lettuce  would  be  a  very  faulty  combination.  One  part 
of  the  area  should  be  set  aside  for  all  similar  crops.  For 
example,  all  root  crops  might  be  grown  on  one  side  of  the 
plot,  all  cabbage  crops  in  the  adjoining  space,  all  tomato 
and  eggplant  crops  in  the  center,  all  corn  and  tall  things 
on  the  opposite  side.  Perennial  crops,  as  asparagus  and 
rhubarb,  and  gardening  structures,  as  hotbeds  and  frames, 
should  be  on  the  border,  where  they  will  not  interfere  with 
the  plowing  and  tilling."  ("Principles  of  Vegetable  Gar- 
dening," page  31.) 

Usually  where  large  acreages  are  worked  there  is  a  tendency 
to  devote  a  greater  portion  of  the  land  to  one  crop  and  some- 
times a  failure  in  this  crop  will  mean  ruin  to  the  farmer, 
whereas,  where  small  areas  are  used,  there  is  generally  a 
diversity  of  the  higher-priced  crops  and  a  failure  in  one  is 
not  so  likely  to  be  disastrous. 

To  get  the  greatest  production  from  the  soil  two  crops  can 
be  grown  in  the  same  soil  at  the  same  time  —  one  of  which 
will  mature  much  earlier  than  the  other,  thereby  giving  its 
place  up  just  about  the  period  of  growth  when  the  second 
crop  would  need  more  room.  This  is  known  as  companion 
cropping. 

"In  companion  cropping  there  is  a  main  crop  and  a 
secondary  crop.  Ordinarily  the  main  crop  occupies  the 
middle  part  and  later  part  of  the  season.  The  secondary 
crop  matures  early  in  the  season,  leaving  the  ground  free 
for  the  maui  crop.  In  some  cases  the  same  species  is  used  for 
both  crops,  as  when  late  celery  is  planted  between  the  rows 
of  early  celery. 

Following  are  examples  of  some  companion  crops : 

Radishes  with  beets  or  carrots.  The  radishes  can  be  sold 
before  the  beets  need  the  room. 


SOME  METHODS  65 

Corn  with  squashes,  citron,  pumpkin,  or  beans  in  hills. 

Early  onions  and  cauliflower  or  cabbage. 

Horseradish  and  early  cabbage. 

Lettuce  with  early  cabbage."  ("Principles  of  Vegetable 
Gardening,"  page  184.) 

If  fruit  trees  be  planted,  vegetables  may  be  grown  in 
rows.  As  soon  as  the  early  vegetables  mature  they  are 
removed,  and  a  midsummer  crop  planted.  These  are  fol- 
lowed by  a  fall  or  winter  crop. 

Radishes,  lettuce,  and  cabbage  grow  at  the  same  time 
and  on  the  area  formerly  used  for  one  crop.  Early  potatoes 
and  early  cauliflower  are  followed  by  Brussels  sprouts  and 
celery,  two  crops  being  as  easily  grown  as  one  by  intelli- 
gent handling.  The  best  beans  are  grown  among  fruit 
trees. 

The  principles  of  "double-cropping"  are  summarized  by 
Professor  Thomas  Shaw,  hi  The  Market  Garden. 

"Onion  sets  may  be  planted  early  hi  the  season  and  onion 
seeds  may  then  be  sown.  Between  the  rows  cauliflower  may 
be  planted.  Later  between  the  cauliflower,  two  or  three 
cucumber  seeds  may  be  dropped.  The  onion  sets  up  around 
the  cauliflower  may  be  taken  out  first,  and  the  cauliflowers 
in  turn  may  be  removed  in  tune  to  let  the  cucumbers 
develop. 

"Midway  between  the  rows  of  onions  grown  from  seeds, 
we  can  plant  radishes,  lettuce,  peppergrass,  spinach,  or  some 
other  early  relish,  which  will  have  ample  time  to  grow  and 
to  be  consumed  before  harm  can  come  to  the  onions  from 
the  shade  of  any  one  of  these  crops.  When  the  onions  are 
well  grown,  turnips  can  be  sown  midway  between  their 
rows." 

So  we  get  two  crops  of  onions,  besides  cauliflowers,  cu- 

F 


66  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

cumbers,  radishes,  and  turnips  off  the  same  place.  Weeds 
won't  have  much  chance  in  soil  treated  like  that. 

"Multum  in  Parvo  Gardening"  (Samuel  Wood)  claims 
£620  ($3100)  from  one  acre  by  the  expenditure  of  con- 
siderable capital  in  growing  fruit  against  brick  walls  —  it 
cost  over  $3100  to  prepare  the  land,  of  which  the  walls  cost 
$2300.  In  this  system  the  fruit  trees  are  pruned  and 
trained  till  they  look  like  firemen's  ladders. 

"  In  the  suburbs  of  Paris,  even  without  such  costly  things, 
with  only  thirty-six  yards  of  frames  for  seedlings,  vegetables 
are  grown  in  the  open  air  to  the  value  of  £200  per  acre." 
("Fields,  Factories  and  Workshops,"  page  80.) 

"At  the  present  tune,  for  fully  100  miles  along  the  Rhone, 
and  in  the  lateral  valleys  of  the  Ardeche  and  the  Drome,  the 
country  is  an  admirable  orchard,  from  which  millions'  worth 
of  fruit  is  exported,  and  the  land  attains  the  selling  price 
of  from  £325  ($1625)  to  £400  ($2000)  the  acre.  Small 
plots  of  land  are  continually  reclaimed  for  culture  upon  every 
crag."  (Same,  page  133.) 

In  California  we  hear  (from  George  P.  Keeney)  that  while 
good  truck  and  fruit  lands  usually  sell  for  $25  to  $350  per 
acre,  the  land  with  full-bearing  fruit  or  nut  trees  often  sells 
at  $1000,  and  even  up  to  $2000  per  acre.  There  is  no 
reason  why  any  intelligent  persons  should  not  make  their 
land  increase  in  the  same  way. 

The  London  Daily  News  reports  that  in  one  year,  which 
was  not  a  good  season  for  all  crops,  on  a  half  acre  of  land, 
Mr.  Henry  Vincent,  of  Brighton,  England,  raised  the  fol- 
lowing products: 

2660  cabbages,  70  bushels  spinach,  950  cauliflowers, 
parsley,  1460  lettuces,  660  broccoli,  16  bushels  potatoes, 
191  bushels  Brussels  sprouts,  106*  gallons  peas,  120  gallons 


SOME  METHODS  67 

artichokes,  flowers,  267  vegetable  marrows,  2976  carrots, 
264  bundles  radishes,  14  gallons  French  beans,  12  gallons 
currants,  95?  punnets  mustard,  27  pounds  mushrooms, 
rhubarb,  948  bushels  sprout  tops,  38  dozen  leeks,  1150  plants, 
11£  gallons  broad  beans,  97  bundles  sea-kale,  978  bundles 
of  asparagus-kale,  504  beet  roots,  2913  gallons  gooseberries, 
219  bundles  mint,  20  bundles  sage,  18  bundles  of  fennel, 
thyme,  besides  one  cartload  of  stones. 

Mr.  Vincent  explains  how  he  came  to  go  into  intensive 
cultivation :  "  A  few  years  ago  the  doctors  said  if  I  did  not 
go  out  more  I  could  not  live.  Very  well,  just  at  that  tune 
there  was  an  outcry  about  the  land  not  paying  for  culti- 
vation. I  could  not  understand  this,  for  as  a  boy  at  seven 
years  of  age  I  had  to  go  out  to  farm  work,  therefore  I  never 
went  to  school.  Anyhow  I  thought  something  was  very 
wrong  if  the  land  would  not  pay;  so,  to  compel  myself 
to  go  out  in  the  fresh  ah*,  I  took  an  allotment  on  the 
Sussex  Downs  to  work  in  the  early  morning  before  my 
daily  duties  began.  I  might  say  that  I  am  a  waiter,  and 
have  been  in  my  present  situation  forty  years,  so  you  can 
understand  I  could  not  know  much  of  land  or  garden 
work.  I  could  not  see  my  way  clear  hi  the  few  spare 
hours  I  get  to  take  more  than  half  an  acre  of  land  to 
garden  early,  especially  as  I  started  knowing  practically 
nothing  about  such  work,  but  I  can  manage  to  do  my  half 
acre  all  alone. 

"My  garden  is  situated  on  the  Brighton  Race  Hill  ridge, 
and  twelve  years  ago  it  was  but  four  inches  of  soil  on  chalk, 
but  I  now  have  a  foot  of  soil  on  the  whole  of  the  half  acre, 
and  year  by  year  my  profits  increase. 

"Yes,  get  the  men  to  stop  on  the  land  in  this  country. 
We  ought  not  to  have  workhouses.  Every  man  could  live, 


68  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

and  live  well,  if  he  could  get  the  land,  and  would  work  it  as 
it  should  be  worked. 

"Farmers  and  landowners  grumble  because  the  land  does 
not  pay.  Now  for  the  fault.  It  is  quite  evident  it  is  not  the 
land,  therefore,  it  must  be  the  fault  of  the  man.  Very  well, 
get  the  land  from  these  landed  proprietors,  by  sale  preferred, 
and  let  it  out  to  men,  not  by  1000  acres,  as  no  man  can  farm 
well  a  thousand  acres  in  England ;  let  the  farms  be  greatly 
reduced,  and  then  the  land  can  be  treated  as  it  should  be. 
Most  of  us  have  children,  and  we  all  know  how  we  love  and 
treat  them.  Treat  the  land  in  the  same  manner,  feed  it, 
and  keep  it  clean,  and  you  will  have  no  cause  to  complain. 
The  land  of  old  England  is  as  good  as  it  ever  was. 

"I  have  serious  thoughts  of  opening  a  kind  of  school  for 
people  who  would  like  to  make  $500  a  year  off  an  acre.  It 
is  to  be  done,  and  done  easily.  I  do  know  that  one  man 
alone  can  manage  two  acres,  and  at  the  end  of  this  year  I 
shall  be  able  to  tell  how  much  more  he  can  manage  alone, 
so  under  my  system  one  can  gain  £4  a  week  off  two  acres 
and  do  all  one's  self. 

"If  the  land  will  produce  over  one  hundred  pounds  per 
year  per  acre,  is  it  not  wrong  for  a  man  to  have,  say,  500  or 
1000  acres  which  in  no  way  can  he  properly  manage ;  as,  in 
the  first  place,  he  cannot  feed  such  an  acreage,  let  alone  keep 
it  clean  and  gather  in  his  crops  ?  " 

In  truth,  what  an  acre  may  produce  depends  on  time, 
place,  and  circumstance.  The  product  of  the  best  acre  of 
land  so  situated  that  its  product  could  be  sold  at  retail  in  a 
near-by  market,  and  which  has  been  cultivated  under  the 
best  management  for  a  term  of  years,  would  provide  a  very 
comfortable  living.  The  product  of  other  acres,  measured 
by  what  they  produce  to  the  cultivator  in  living,  declines 


SOME  METHODS  69 

through  various  grades  down  to  almost  nothing  on  the  acre 
far  from  railroads  or  difficult  of  access. 

While  in  quantity  and  quality  the  least  favored  acre 
could  be  made  to  produce  as  much  as  one  best  situated,  yet, 
almost  none  of  its  production  would  be  available  to  sell, 
while  the  product  of  the  favorably  located  acre  could  be 
sold  as  rapidly  as  grown. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   KITCHEN  GARDEN 

THE  aim  of  the  kitchen  garden  is  to  provide  an  abundance 
and  variety  of  food  for  the  family.  As  the  object  of  the 
cultivator  is  to  get  the  largest  product  for  his  labor,  he 
ought  to  produce  all  that  he  can  consume  on  the  least  pos- 
sible area.  Though  one  may  go  into  mushrooms  or  frog 
raising  as  a  money  crop,  the  kitchen  garden  is  the  first  in- 
dispensable and  should  first  be  given  attention. 

For  a  garden  choose  a  piece  of  land  with  a  southern  ex- 
posure, sheltered  on  the  north  and  west  by  woods,  buildings, 
hedge,  or  any  kind  of  a  windbreak.  This  arrangement 
will  give  the  earliest  garden,  for  it  gets  all  the  sun  there  is. 
By  running  the  rows  north  and  south,  the  rays  of  the  sun 
strike  the  eastern  side  of  the  row  in  the  morning,  and  the 
western  side  in  the  afternoon. 

The  best  time  to  take  hold  of  a  piece  of  land  is  in  the  fall, 
because  then  it  can  be  plowed  ready  for  the  spring  planting. 
The  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  during  the  winter  breaks 
up  the  sod  and  the  stiff  lumps  thrown  up  by  the  plow,  so 
rendering  the  soil  pliable  and  easily  worked.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  land  that  has  been  reclaimed  from  the  forest,  or 
which  has  not  been  farmed  for  many  years. 

Before  the  plowing  is  done,  the  land  for  the  garden  should 
be  manured  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  large  wagon  loads 

70 


THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN  71 

to  the  acre.  If  you  can  get  a  suitable  plot  that  has  been  in 
red  clover,  alfalfa,  soy  beans,  or  cowpeas,  for  a  number  of 
years,  so  much  the  better.  These  plants  have  on  their 
roots  nitrogen-fixing  bacteria,  which  draw  nitrogen  from  the 
air.  Nitrogen  is  the  great  meat-maker  and  forces  a  pro- 
longed and  rapid  growth  of  all  vegetables. 

After  manuring  and  plowing,  harrow  repeatedly  with  a 
disk  or  cutaway  harrow  until  the  soil  is  as  fine  as  dust.  Then 
you  have  a  seed  bed  which  will  give  the  fine  roots  a  chance 
to  grow  as  soon  as  the  seeds  sprout.  Too  much  stress  can- 
not be  laid  upon  the  importance  of  thoroughly  working  the 
soil  at  this  time.  Every  stone,  weed,  or  clod  that  is  left 
in  the  soil  destroys  to  that  extent  the  source  from  which  the 
plants  can  get  their  food. 

A  quarter-acre  garden,  which  is  big  enough  to  supply  the 
whole  family  with  a  succession  of  vegetables  for  summer  and 
fall,  as  well  as  some  potatoes  and  turnips  for  winter,  will 
take  a  diligent  workman  about  four  days  to  dig  over  and 
three  days  to  plant.  The  four  days'  work  of  digging  will 
need  to  be  done  only  once.  The  time  spent  upon  planting 
succession  crops  will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  the  garden 
reserved  for  rotation.  The  part  kept  for  lettuce,  radishes, 
spinach,  beets,  Swiss  chard,  peas,  string  and  wax  beans 
may  be  digged  over  in  a  favorable  season  for  three  successive 
plantings,  while  the  part  devoted  to  early  potatoes  would 
need  to  be  digged  only  twice  —  once  when  the  planting  is 
done,  and  again  when  crop  is  gathered  and  the  ground  be 
prepared  for  a  crop  of  late  cabbage  or  turnips.  A  planting 
table  for  vegetables,  which  is  complete  and  comprehensive, 
is  distributed  free  by  the  National  Emergency  Food  Garden 
Commission  at  Washington,  D.C. 

It  is  far  more  important  to  plant  seeds  at  the  proper  depth 


72  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

than  that  they  should  be  planted  thinly  or  thickly,  for  if 
they  are  planted  too  thin,  it  makes  a  sort  of  advantage  by 
giving  the  individual  plants  ample  room  to  develop  to  large 
size ;  and  if  planted  too  thick,  the  evil  can  easily  be  remedied 
by  thinning  or  transplanting. 

After  the  seeds  come  up,  the  size  of  almost  all  the  vege- 
tables can  be  increased  by  transplanting,  in  favorable  soil, 
which  gives  each  plant  room  for  complete  development. 

It  is  too  expensive  to  risk  part  of  the  land  being  unused 
or  half  used  on  account  of  seeds  dying,  or  to  put  in  so  many 
seeds  in  order  to  insure  growth  that  they  will  crowd  one 
another.  Where  possible,  therefore,  seeds  should  be  sprouted 
and  planted,  not  "sown." 

Luna  beans  planted  on  edge  with  eye  down  will  come  up 
much  sooner  than  if  dropped  in  carelessly  so  they  have  to 
turn  themselves  over.  In  a  small  garden  the  time  saved 
by  such  planting  will  repay  the  extra  trouble. 

In  some  things  like  onions  and  radishes,  however,  it  is 
better  to  sow  them  thick,  and  then  thin  them  out,  so  as  to 
get  the  effect  of  transplanting  without  so  much  labor.  In 
others,  like  lettuce  and  all  the  salad  plants,  transplanting 
gives  new  life  and  energy  and  develops  the  individual  plants 
in  a  way  that  will  astonish  those  not  familiar  with  what 
free  development  means. 

It  is  wise  to  plant  corn  after  lettuce  and  radishes  are 
gathered,  and  more  lettuce,  corn,  or  salad,  after  the  beans 
are  picked.  Then  late  crops,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  or  spinach, 
can  go  where  early  corn  grew,  so  that  the  small  patch  may 
earn  your  living  and  pay  big  dividends. 

Do  not  let  two  vegetables  of  the  same  botanical  family 
follow  each  other.  For  instance,  lima  beans  should  not  fol- 
low green  beans  or  peas,  as  all  the  family  draw  about  the  same 


THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN  73 

elements  from  the  soil,  and  are  likely  to  have  the  same  in- 
sects and  diseases. 

Do  not  plant  cucumbers,  squash,  or  pumpkins  too  near 
each  other,  as  they  will  often  inter-impregnate  and  produce 
uneatable  hybrids. 

Decide  what  you  are  going  to  do  with  your  crop  before 
you  plant  it,  whether  to  sell  it,  at  wholesale  or  at  retail,  to 
eat  it,  or  to  feed  it  to  stock. 

•  C.  E.  Hunn,  in  the  Garden  Magazine,  gives  the  following 
arrangement:  "For  the  beginner  who  wants  to  get  fresh 
vegetables  and  fruits  from  May  until  midwinter,  a  space 
100  X  200  feet  is  enough. 

"  1.  Plant  in  rows,  not  beds,  and  avoid  the  backache. 

"2.  Plant  vegetables  that  mature  at  the  same  tune  near 
one  another. 

"3.  Plant  vegetables  of  the  same  height  near  together 
—  tall  ones  back. 

"4.  Run  the  rows  the  short  way,  for  convenience  in  cul- 
tivation and  because  one  hundred  feet  of  anything  is 
enough. 

"5.  Put  the  permanent  vegetables  (asparagus,  rhubarb, 
sweet  herbs)  at  one  side,  so  that  the  rest  will  be  easy  to 
plow. 

"  6.  Practice  rotation.  Do  not  put  vines  where  they  were 
last.  Put  corn  in  a  different  place.  The  other  important 
groups  for  rotation  are  root  crops  (including  potatoes  and 
onions) ;  cabbage  tribe,  peas  and  beans,  tomatoes,  eggplant 
and  pepper,  salad  plants. 

"  7.  Don't  grow  potatoes  in  a  small  garden.  They  aren't 
worth  the  bother. 

"The  following  small  fruit  garden  requires  100  X  100  feet. 
Small  fruits  planted  this  year  will  yield  next  year. 


74 


THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 


FBUITS 

LENGTH  OF  Rows 
TO  PLANT 

DISTANCES  BE- 
TWEEN PLANTS 

Strawberries,  early     

100  feet 
100  feet 
100  feet 
200  feet 

e  last  for  canr 

200  feet 
100  feet 
200  feet 
100  feet 
100  feet 
100  feet 

li  X  4  feet 
H  X  4  feet 
14  X  4  feet 
3X5  feet 

ing.) 

6X6  feet 
3X4  feet 
8X8  feet 
15  X  15  feet 
15  X  15  feet 
15  X  15  feet 

Strawberries,  mid-season     .... 
Strawberries,  late       

Raspberries       

(Red,  black,  yellow  and  purple  ;   th 
Blackberries      

Currants       

Grapes     '  . 

Peaches  (6)  

Plums  (6)     

Pears,  dwarf  (6)     

"  By  training  on  trellis  or  wire,  the  smaller  fruit  plantings 
can  be  made  much  closer. 

"If  fruits  are  wanted  in  the  garden,  plant  a  row  of  apple 
trees  along  the  northern  border,  plums  and  pears  on  the 
western  sides,  cherries  and  peaches  on  the  eastern  side. 
Next  the  apple  trees  run  a  grape  trellis ;  and  then  in  succes- 
sion east  and  west,  run  a  row  of  blackberries,  raspberries, 
gooseberries,  and  currants.  These  rows,  with  the  apple  trees, 
form  a  windbreak,  and  besides  adding  to  the  income,  pro- 
tect the  vegetables.  Next  to  the  bush  fruits,  between  them 
and  the  ends  of  the  vegetable  rows,  put  rhubarb,  asparagus, 
and  strawberries." 

Insect  pests  must  be  watched  for  and  their  destructive 
work  checked.  Ashes,  slaked  lime,  or  any  kind  of  dust  or 
powder  destroy  most  insects  which  prey  on  the  leaves  of 
plants.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  dust  closes  the  pores 
through  which  the  insects  breathe.  It  should  therefore 
be  applied  when  the  leaves  are  dry. 

Cutworms  can  be  destroyed  by  winter  plowing.     Rotation 


THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN  75 

of  vegetables  will  reduce  the  damage  from  insects,  because 
each  family  has  its  peculiar  bugs.  By  constant  change  to 
new  soil,  the  pests  have  no  opportunity  to  get  a  foothold. 

With  bugs,  as  with  boys,  only  those  who  are  interested 
in  them  and  therefore  understand  them  can  manage  them. 
It  is  fun  to  study  the  insects  —  and  it  pays. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  any  fixed  rule  as  to  how  much  one 
may  expect  to  produce  on  land  devoted  to  the  kitchen  garden. 
As  an  example  of  what  the  most  unskilled  may  do,  the  Ninth 
Report  of  the  Vacant  Lot  Cultivation  Association  mentions 
a  sample  garden  of  one  hundred  square  feet  of  Philadelphia 
land  cultivated  by  school  children  ten  to  twelve  years  of 
age  as  producing  the  f ollowing : 

String  Beans,  1£  pints $  .10 

Lettuce,  40  heads 2.00 

Lima  Beans,  2$  pecks 75 

Tomatoes,  2|  pecks 1.00 

Beets,  6  bunches 30 

Cabbages,  3  heads 15 

Radishes,  20  bunches 1.00 

$5.30 

See  how  we  can  learn  from  our  children.  The  values  in 
money  are  given  to  show  what  can  be  saved  in  household 
expense  by  raising  our  own  stuff. 

This  rate  of  production  carried  out  on  a  quarter-acre 
garden  would  have  a  money  value  of  more  than  $500.  The 
Superintendent  believes  that  with  care  and  good  market 
facilities  a  quarter  acre  could  easily  be  made  to  produce 
an  average  yield  of  that  much  or  more. 

W.  F.  Fairbrother,  of  New  Jersey,  in  the  Garden  Magazine, 
gives  the  following  cost  and  product  from  a  garden  22  X  34 
feet,  before  the  war: 


76  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Debit 

Manure,  1  double  load $2.50 

Fertilizer,  50  pounds .75 

Poultry  wire,  50  yards 2.50 

Posts,  12  at  12£c 1.50 

Tin  strips,  4 .25 

Seeds 1.55 

Tomato  and  Pepper  plants .40 


Total $9.45 

Credit 

Lima  Beans,  7  qt.  at  12c.  per  quart  ] $  .84 

Brussels  Sprouts,  12  qt.  at  25c.  per  quart 3.00 

Onions  (white)  15  qt.  at  15c.  per  quart 2.25 

Peas,  3  qt.  at  lOc.  per  quart .30 

Beans,  38  qt.  at  lOc.  per  quart 3.80 

Cucumbers,  200  at  Ic.  each 2.00 

Peppers,  150  at  l|c.  each 2.25 

Muskmelons,  19  at  8c.  each 1.52 

Turnips,  96  at  l^c.  each 1.44 

Beets  (425),  106  bunches  at  3c.  per  bunch 3.18 

Radishes,  75  bunches  at  l£c.  per  bunch 1.13 

Lettuce,  81  heads  at  5c.  per  head 4.05 

Tomatoes,  6  bushels  at  50c.  per  bushel 3.00 

Parsley  estimated  at .75 

Total $29.51 

On  this  748  square  feet  of  land  the  net  profit  is  shown  to 
be  about  three  cents  per  square  foot  or  $300  for  a  quarter- 
acre  plot. 

Here's  another  use  of  "land."  Maybe  a  pool  in  your 
garden  or  a  dam  in  a  little  brook  in  it  may  help  out  your 
home  garden  bank  account.  Of  course  a  pond  a  few  square 
yards  in  extent  will  give  even  better  returns  if  you  can  sell 
its  produce  at  retail  near  by. 

W.  B.  Shaw,  a  seventy-year-old  veteran  who  lost  his  right 


THE  KITCHEN  GARDEN  77 

arm  during  the  Civil  War,  lives  in  Kenilworth,  D.  C.,  and 
clears  $1500  an  acre  every  year  out  of  mud  puddles  —  if 
mud  puddles  can  be  measured  by  the  acre. 

Mr.  Shaw  is  a  pond  lily  farmer,  and  despite  his  lack  of  his 
good  right  arm,  he  poles  his  boat  about  his  mud  puddles 
and  gathers  in  the  pond  lilies.  His  is  not  exactly  a  "dry 
farm"  and  neither  wet  nor  cloudy  weather  bothers  him. 
Furthermore,  the  demand  for  his  pond  lilies  in  Baltimore, 
Washington,  Philadelphia,  and  even  New  York,  and  Chicago, 
is  greater  than  he  can  supply. 

Mr.  Shaw  secured  this  swamp  for  almost  nothing,  as  it 
was  considered  worthless.  He  divided  it  into  fifteen  pools 
with  little  dams  between  them,  and  rollers  on  the  dams  to 
enable  him  to  drag  his  boat  from  one  to  the  other.  From 
May  to  late  in  September  he  is  busy  every  morning  gathering 
lilies.  His  average  is  about  500  a  morning,  which  he  ships 
in  little  galvanized  iron  tanks  with  wet  moss. 

Many  school  children  know  how  to  get  results  on  a  little 
land.  Mr.  Mahoney,  Superintendent  of  the  Fairview  Gar- 
den School,  Yonkers,  New  York,  estimates  that  the  total 
value  of  produce  grown  on  the  250  gardens,  composing  the 
school  plot,  in  all  about  one  and  one  quarter  acres  of  land, 
was  $1308,  or  at  the  rate  of  more  than  a  thousand  dollars 
per  acre.  When  it  is  taken  into  consideration  that  all  the 
labor  was  done  by  boys  ranging  in  age  from  eight  to  twelve 
years,  this  result  is  truly  astonishing. 

What  may  not  adult  skilled  labor  produce  when  applied 
freely  to  the  land? 

Mr.  Julian  Burroughs,  in  the  Garden  Magazine,  reports 
that  on  two  strips  of  land  measuring  20X100  and  10X50 
feet,  2500  square  feet  in  all,  he  secured  the  following 
results : 


78  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Cost 

Seed $2.10 

Manure  (3  loads ;   not  enough) 3.00 

Ashes  (3  barrels  of  wood) 1.20 

One  half  bag  of  potato  fertilizer 1.25 

150  ft.  of  wire  netting  for  peas 1.20 

$8.75 

Receipts 

Melons,  100  at  lOc $10.00 

Squash,  20  at  20c 4.00 

Peas,  4  bushels  at  $2.00 8.00 

Beets,  4  barrels  at  $1.00 4.00 

Lettuce,  100  heads  at  5c 5.00 

Corn,  400  ears  at  Ic 4.00 

Beans 1.00 

Tomatoes,  3  bushels  at  $1.00 3.00 

Cabbages,  late  cauliflower,  radishes,  onions 2.00 

$41.00 

Net  profit  $32.75,  or  about  one  and  one  third  cents  per 
square  foot.  As  we  have  shown  above,  this  may  be  doubled 
and  trebled. 


CHAPTER  IX 

AND  EQUIPMENT  —  SPECIALIZING  CROPS 

To  subdue  the  land  with  an  ax,  a  plow,  and  a  spade  is 
possible;  millions  of  acres  have  been  so  subdued.  This 
method,  however,  is  the  most  expensive  of  all,  as  in  our  times 
markets  won't  wait,  and  the  man  who  wants  to  get  on  must 
produce  as  quickly  as  possible.  To  do  so,  he  must  have  the 
best  tools.  They  will  pay  for  themselves  many  times  over  in 
a  single  year.  For  the  farm,  the  following  list,  in  addition 
to  a  well-stocked  tool  chest  (hammer,  saw,  plane,  ax,  etc.) 
covers  the  indispensable : 

1  team  horses  (these  may  be  hired) $200.00 

1  walking  plow       10.00 

1  disk  or  cutaway  harrow 25.00 

1  farm  wagon 50.00 

1  cultivator  (2  horse) 25.00 

1  one-horse  cultivator 8.00 

Shovels,  pick,  mattock  or  grubbing  hoe 10.00 

Work  harness  for  two  horses 25.00 

$353.00 

These  things  you  must  have  to  get  the  land  in  proper  shape 
for  seeds  or  plants ;  but  special  crops  require  special  tools. 
A  scythe  is  good  to  keep  weeds  away  from  the  fences.  A 
sickle  is  handy  to  keep  down  rank  grass.  To  reduce  living  / 
expenses,  a  cow  for  $60,  and  fifty  hens  at  fifty  cents  each, 
say  $25,  will  supply  a  large  family  with  milk  and  eggs.  Most 

79 


80  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

people  make  the  mistake  of  buying  too  many  things  and 
these  poorly  selected.  It  is  better  to  have  too  few  tools 
than  too  many,  for  tools  are  often  dropped  where  last  used, 
and  so  are  lost.  Then  if  money  is  scarce,  you  may  not  be 
able  to  make  a  shelter  for  your  machines  and  tools,  and  they 
will  rust  through  the  winter.  Many  farmers,  through  neg- 
lect, have  to  replace  their  tool  equipment  every  four  or  five 
years,  but  with  attention  and  care,  the  original  equipment, 
even  to  the  team,  ought  still  to  be  in  use  twenty  years  after 
their  purchase.  I  know  many  instances  where  this  is  true. 
The  above  equipment  is  the  minimum  for  beginning  work. 
The  character  of  additions  to  it  will  depend  much  upon  the 
crops  which  you  select  as  the  money  getters. 

For  general  market  gardening  and  the  kitchen  garden  too, 
the  following  tool  list,  together  with  the  above,  will  include 
everything  absolutely  necessary. 

Wheel  hoe $6.00 

Spade  and  fork,  each  $1.00 2.00 

Push  hoe .65 

Watering  can .60 

Rake  and  common  hoe 1.00 

Bulb  sprayer .25 

Trowel .10 

$10.60 

The  wheel  hoe  is  a  great  saver  —  of  backache,  especially 
to  the  beginner;  as  Warner  says,  "at  the  best  you  will  con- 
clude that  for  gardening  purposes  a  cast-iron  back  with  a 
hinge  in  it  is  preferable  to  the  ones  now  in  use." 

The  dibble,  an  old  tool  handle,  or  a  bit  of  broomstick 
sharpened,  and  garden  lines  to  get  the  rows  straight,  labels, 
tomato  supports,  plant  protectors  and  stakes  can  all  be  home- 
made out  of  old  material.  The  full  outfit  Would  include  the 
following : 


TOOLS  AND  EQUIPMENT  81 

Roller $8.00 

Wheel-hoe  with  seeder 8.50 

Sprayer 3.75 

Wheelbarrow 4.00 

Crowbar 1.50 

Weeder 35 

For  such  crops  as  admit  of  horse  cultivation  a  horse  hoe 
will  save  a  great  deal  of  time. 

The  weeder  is  a  cousin  to  the  push  hoe  and  has  a  zigzag 
blade  for  cutting  off  young  weeds  which  are  just  starting 
above  ground.  It  is  pushed  backward  and  forward  and 
cuts  both  way&.  It  is  very  good  for  soft  ground;  on  a 
harder  patch  use  the  push  hoe. 

A  market  garden  is  really  a  big  kitchen  garden,  from 
which  the  cultivator  supplies  not  only  his  own  family,  but 
his  neighbors,  the  public.  To  run  a  successful  market  gar- 
den for  profit,  land  suitably  situated  near  transportation 
and  markets,  a  large  supply  of  stable  manure,  hotbeds  for 
raising  plants,  crates  for  shipping,  wagons  for  delivering, 
and  a  complete  outfit  of  tools  are  necessary.  You  must  raise 
all  sorts  of  vegetables  and  salad  plants  in  quantities  suf- 
ficiently large  to  justify  you  in  giving  your  whole  time  to 
the  work.  An  acre  devoted  to  general  market  gardening 
could  be  attended  to  by  two  men  with  some  extra  help  for 
marketing. 

To  get  a  place  fully  established  on  new,  rich  land  requires 
two  or  three  years.  On  worn-out  land  it  would  take  longer 
to  build  it  up  to  the  high  fertility  needed  for  maximum  pro- 
duction. Crops  like  asparagus  and  rhubarb  take  two  years 
to  establish  on  a  remunerative  basis.  If  bush  fruits  are 
raised,  three  years  are  required  to  get  maximum  results.  So 
in  starting,  land  should  be  bought  outright  or  leased  for  ten 
years. 


82  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

In  market  gardening  for  profit,  one  acre  might  be  devoted 
to  vegetables,  one  acre  to  small  fruits;  strawberries,  rasp- 
berries, blackberries,  currants,  gooseberries,  etc.,  and  one 
acre  kept  for  buildings,  poultry,  etc.  An  energetic  man  could 
clear  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  besides  his  living,  after  he 
got  a  start,  and  be  absolutely  independent;  that  is,  unless 
some  predatory  railroad  corporation  could  confiscate  his 
profits  before  his  product  reached  the  market. 

Some  persons  are  just  naturally  so  successful  with  plants 
that  if  they  stuck  an  umbrella  in  the  ground  we  should  ex- 
pect to  see  it  blossom  out  into  parasols  —  but  they  don't 
know  why  it  does,  and  they  can't  teach  any  one  else  how  to 
do  it. 

Any  fool  can  sneer  at  "book  farming"  or  at  anything  else, 
but  you  can  hardly  succeed  without  the  best  books  by  prac- 
tical men.  Do  not  let  some  experienced  ignoramus  talk 
you  out  of  experimenting  under  their  guidance.  You  will 
learn  little  without  experience,  and  unless  you  have  the 
grower's  instinct,  you  will  learn  less  without  books. 

Don't  be  hypnotized  by  long  experience  or  by  success. 
Hardly  anybody  knows  his  own  business.  You  must  have 
noticed  that  few  of  the  people  you  buy  of  or  sell  to,  know 
any  more  of  their  goods  than  you  do. 

It  is  just  the  same  with  trades.  Hardly  a  barber  knows 
that  he  should  not  shave  you  against  the  grain  of  the  skin. 
Even  the  cat  won't  stand  being  rubbed  up  the  wrong  way ; 
but  the  barber  never  thought  of  that. 

We  lawyers  and  the  doctors  are  supposed  to  be  thorough 
in  our  own  field  —  I  said  lately  to  one  of  the  ablest  men  at 
the  New  York  Bar,  "  About  one  lawyer  in  a  hundred  knows 
his  business."  He  said,  "That  is  a  gross  overestimate." 
Shortly  after  I  talked  with  three  Judges,  one  of  the  City 


TOOLS  AND  EQUIPMENT  83 

Court,  one  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  one  of  the  United 
States  Circuit,  and  they  each  agreed  that  my  friend's  remark 
was  about  true,  and  that  in  most  cases  litigants  would 
do  as  well  without  lawyers  as  with  them. 

If  that  is  true,  what  chance  is  there  that  an  uneducated 
man  who  has  "raised  garden  sass  ever  since  he  was  a  boy, 
and  seen  his  father  do  it  before  him,"  can  teach  you  cor- 
rectly ? 

Men  learn  very  slowly  by  experience,  because  no  two  ex- 
periences are  exactly  alike,  unless  they  perceive  and  apply 
the  principles  under  the  experience. 

An  intelligent  man  accustomed  to  investigation  can  learn 
more  about  a  specialty  in  a  week's  study  than  an  untrained 
practitioner  can  believe  in  a  year. 

What  the  untrained  teacher  can  tell  us  is  of  little  account ; 
what  he  shows  us  is  another  matter. 

Therefore  get  help  who  know  that  they  don't  know 
anything  about  a  garden  and  who  consequently  will  do  with 
a  will  exactly  what  you  tell  them  to  do ;  such  labor  is  cheap 
—  why  should  you  pay  extravagant  prices  for  skill  to  a  man 
who  has  succeeded  so  poorly  that  he  can  only  earn  day's 
wages  ?  You  can  get  much  better  knowledge  at  less  cost 
from  a  book.  Study  and  put  your  knowledge  into  practice 
yourself,  where  you  see  promise  of  a  profit. 

Almost  every  crop  can  be  made  a  specialty.  In  proportion 
as  special  crops  are  profitable  when  conditions  are  right,  so 
are  they  sources  of  loss  when  things  go  wrong.  If,  after  your 
first  season  in  the  country,  some  special  crop  takes  your 
fancy,  give  extra  space  and  time  to  it  the  second  year  and 
see  if  you  are  successful  in  handling  an  eighth  or  a  quarter 
acre.  If  so,  you  may  extend  your  operations  as  rapidly  as 
purse  and  market  permit. 


84  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

Before  concentrating  upon  any  crop  as  the  chief  source  of 
income,  a  careful  study  must  be  made  of  all  the  conditions 
surrounding  its  production;  a  crop  is  not  produced  in  the 
broad  meaning  of  that  term  until  it  is  actually  in  the  hands 
of  the  consumer. 

Potatoes,  for  instance,  are  grown  by  the  hundred  acres  in 
sections  adapted  to  their  growth,  and  special  machinery 
costing  hundreds  of  dollars  is  used  in  planting,  cultivating, 
and  harvesting  the  crop.  The  good  shipping  and  keeping 
qualities  of  the  potato  enable  it  to  be  raised  far  from  mar- 
kets and  so  brings  into  competition  cheap  land  worked  ^in 
large  areas,  with  large  capital.  In  spite  of  this,  however, 
the  small  cultivator  can  usually  make  money  if  he  can  sell 
his  potatoes  directly  to  the  consumer. 

If  your  land  is  so  situated  that  you  can  put  your  indi- 
viduality into  the  crop  and  can  control  all  the  circumstances, 
preparation  of  land,  planting,  cultivation,  harvesting,  and 
marketing,  your  chances  of  success  are  immeasurably  in- 
creased. As  soon  as  any  important  part  must  be  trusted 
to  some  one  beyond  your  control,  danger  arises.  Assiduous 
care  in  planting,  cultivating,  and  packing  will  avail  nothing 
if  the  product  falls  into  the  hands  of  transportation  com- 
panies or  commission  merchants  indifferent  as  to  what  be- 
comes of  it.  It  is  therefore  better  to  be  quite  independent, 
sell  your  own  crop,  and  have  the  whole  operation  in  your  own 
hands  from  the  very  beginning. 

Generally  speaking,  seed  growing  for  the  market  is  a 
highly  developed  special  business  which  is  usually  carried 
on  by  companies  operating  with  large  capital,  able  to  em- 
ploy the  best  experts,  and  to  avail  themselves  of  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  scientific  methods  in  culture,  regardless  of  ex- 
pense. So  uncertain  is  the  business,  that  even  with  all 


TOOLS  AND  EQUIPMENT  85 

these  facilities,  they  rarely  guarantee  seeds.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  amateur  has  little  chance  of  succeeding  in  such  a 
difficult  business.  Nevertheless,  he  will  be  able  after  a  few 
seasons  of  increasing  experience  to  gather  seeds  from  selected 
plants  and  so  furnish  his  own  supply.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  however,  that  plants  can  be  improved  by  cross  breed- 
ing and  that  by  keeping  a  variety  too  long  on  the  same 
ground  its  quality  deteriorates,  and  the  plant  tends  to  re- 
vert to  the  type  natural  to  it  before  domestication. 

When  land  is  cropped  every  season,  the  nitrogen,  potash, 
and  phosphorus  removed  from  the  soil  must  be  replaced  in 
some  form,  otherwise  you  have  diminishing  returns,  while 
the  expense  for  labor  is  the  same.  In  farming  small  areas 
for  specialties  you  cannot  easily  invoke  the  principle  of  ro- 
tation by  enriching  the  land  with  legumes,  to  be  plowed  under 
while  green,  the  bacteria  on  the  roots  of  which  gather  nitro- 
gen from  the  air,  but  you  must  get  stable  manure  or  buy 
chemical  fertilizers  to  maintain  the  fertility. 

Special  crops  divide  themselves  naturally  into  two  classes : 
those  raised  for  immediate  shipment  to  market,  and  those  to 
be  hauled  to  canneries.  The  first  type  are  generally  prepared 
in  a  more  expensive  way,  and  need  more  care  and  attention. 
Each  class  requires  its  own  special  forms  of  packing  to  con- 
form to  market  peculiarities  fixed  by  the  taste  of  consumers. 

For  the  cultivation  of  all  specialties,  many  items  of  prep- 
aration are  identical.  Land  must  be  well  drained,  it  must 
contain  a  sufficient  amount  of  humus,  or  decaying  vegetable 
matter,  to  make  it  loose  and  porous;  it  must  be  free  from 
sticks  and  stones  or  any  foreign  matter  likely  to  impede  cul- 
tivation or  obstruct  growth.  The  proper  formation  of  a 
seed  bed  is  a  prime  prerequisite  to  successful  cropping. 
After  the  land  is  manured  and  plowed  it  should  be  gone  over 


86  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

in  all  directions  with  a  disk  and  smoothing  harrow,  until  it 
is  of  a  dustlike  fineness. 

In  thorough  cultivation  before  the  crop  is  planted,  lies 
the  secret  of  many  a  success,  and  in  its  neglect  the  cause 
of  many  failures.  Intelligent  handling  of  crops  is  in  a  large 
measure  knowledge  of  the  influence  of  wind  and  rain,  sun- 
shine and  darkness,  on  the  particular  nature  of  the  plant. 
Delicate  plants,  for  example,  ought  to  be  grown  where 
buildings  or  forests  break  the  force  of  prevailing  winds. 
Sheltered  valleys  in  irrigated  sections  have  proved  the  best 
for  intensive  cultivation.  For  thousands  of  years  in  China 
and  Japan  the  conditions  of  successful  intensive  cultivation 
have  been  well  understood,  and  to-day  the  most  efficient 
gardeners  are  the  Chinese.  In  some  parts  of  Mexico,  for 
the  same  reasons,  intensive  cultivation  has  reached  a  high 
development.  In  our  own  West  we  are  catching  up  on  vege- 
tables and  fruits. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL 

WE  have  seen  what  a  worker  with  very  little  money  can 
do  and  how  he  can  succeed.  A  small  capital,  however,  can 
be  used  to  increase  the  returns  to  as  great  advantage  on  a 
small  farm  as  large  capital  can  be  used  on  a  large  farm  and 
with  much  less  risk. 

Stable  manure  is  still  the  favorite  article  with  the  masses 
of  gardeners.  One  ton  of  ordinary  stable  manure  contains 
about  1275  pounds  of  organic  matter,  carrying  eight  pounds 
of  nitrogen,  ten  pounds  of  potash,  and  four  pounds  of  phos- 
phoric acid. 

When  thoroughly  rotted,  the  manure  acquires  a  still  larger 
percentage  of  plant  food ;  it  is  more  valuable,  not  only  for 
that  reason,  but  also  on  account  of  its  immediate  avail- 
ability. Further,  the  mechanical  effect  of  this  manure 
in  opening  and  loosening  the  soil,  allowing  air  and  warmth 
to  enter  more  freely,  adds  greatly  to  its  value. 

It  is  easily  gotten  and  often  goes  wholly  or  in  part  to 
waste.  On  the  outskirts  of  some  towns  may  be  seen  a  col- 
lection of  manure  piles  that  have  been  hauled  out  and  dumped 
in  waste  places.  The  plant  food  in  each  ton  of  this  manure 
is  worth  at  least  two  dollars  —  that  is  the  least  Eastern 
farmers  pay  for  similar  material,  and  they  make  money 
doing  it.  Yet  almost  every  liveryman  has  to  pay  some  one 
for  hauling  the  manure  away.  This  is  simply  because  farmers 

87 


88  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

living  near  these  towns  are  missing  a  chance  to  secure  some- 
thing for  nothing  —  because,  perhaps,  the  profit  is  not 
directly  in  sight.  But  from  most  soils  there  is  a  handsome 
profit  possible  from  a  very  small  application  of  stable  manure. 

While  writing  this,  I  saw  a  man  in  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y., 
dumping  a  load  of  street  sweepings  into  a  hole  hi  a  vacant  lot. 
It  would  have  been  less  wasteful  to  have  dumped  a  bushel 
of  potatoes  into  the  hole. 

Commercial  fertilizers  are  coming  more  and  more  in  use 
by  market  gardeners,  and  with  reason.  If  we  examine  a 
good  fertilizer,  analyzing  five  per  cent  available  nitrogen,  six 
per  cent  phosphoric  acid,  and  8  per  cent  potash,  we  shall  find 
that  one  ton  of  it  contains,  besides  less  valuable  ingredients  : 
100  Ib.  nitrogen,  120  Ib.  phosphoric  acid,  160  Ib.  potash. 

Such  fertilizers  probably  retail  at  forty  to  sixty  dollars  per 
ton,  and  are  fully  worth  it.  All  this  plant  food,  and  perhaps 
one  half  more,  can  be  drawn  in  a  single  load,  while  it  will 
take  ten  such  loads  of  stable  manure  to  supply  the  same 
amount  of  plant  food. 

There  is  no  reason  to  be  afraid  of  too  much  fertilizer,  pro- 
vided it  is  evenly  distributed  and  thoroughly  mixed  through 
properly  prepared  soil.  Stinginess  in  this  item  is  poor 
economy. 

Nitrogen  is  the  most  essential  food  for  plant  growth.  It 
is  an  important  element  of  plant  food  in  manure.  In  ordi- 
nary manure  most  of  the  value  is  due  to  the  nitrogen,  al- 
though phosphoric  acid  and  potash  are  also  present.  It  is 
found  in  the  most  available  form  in  nitrate  of  soda.  Nitrate 
of  soda  will  benefit  all  crops,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  it 
will  pay  to  use  it  on  all  crops.  Its  cost  makes  it  unprofitable 
to  use  on  cheap  crops;  but  on  those  that  yield  a  large  re- 
turn nitrate  of  soda  is  a  very  profitable  investment. 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL          89 

"It  is  shown  in  the  experiments  conducted  with  nitrate 
of  soda  on  different  crops  that  in  the  case  of  grain  and  forage 
crops,  which  utilized  the  nitrate  quite  as  completely  as  the 
market  garden  crops,  the  increased  value  of  crops  due  to 
nitrate  does  not  in  any  case  exceed  $14  per  acre,  or  a  money 
return  at  the  rate  of  $8.50  per  100  pounds  of  nitrate  used, 
while  in  the  case  of  the  market-garden  crops  the  value  of  the 
increased  yield  reaches,  in  the  case  of  one  crop,  the  high 
figure  of  over  $263  per  acre,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  $66  per 
100  pounds  of  nitrate."  (New  Jersey  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Stations,  page  8,  No.  172.) 

Professor  Voorhees,  of  the  same  station,  experimented 
with  tomatoes,  with  these  results : 


MANURE  AND  FERTILIZER  USED  PER  ACRE 

COST  PER  ACRE 

VALUE  OF  CROP 
PER  ACRE 

No  manure  

$271.88 

30  tons  barnyard  manure  .... 
8  tons  manure  and  400  Ib.  fertilizer  . 
160  Ib.  nitrate  of  soda  alone  .  .  . 

$30.00 
15.00 
4.00 

291.75 
317.63 
361.13 

Such  common  crops  as  tomatoes,  cabbage,  turnips,  beets, 
etc.,  in  order  to  be  highly  profitable,  must  be  grown  and 
harvested  early;  any  one  can  grow  them  in  their  regular 
season ;  their  growth  must  be  promoted  or  forced  as  much  as 
possible,  at  the  time  when  the  natural  agencies  are  not 
active  in  the  change  of  soil  nitrogen  into  available  forms,  and 
the  plants  must,  therefore,  be  supplied  artificially  with  the 
active  forms  of  nitrogen,  if  a  rapid  and  continuous  growth 
is  to  be  maintained. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  have  a  return  of  $50  per  acre  from 
the  use  of  $5  worth  of  nitrate  of  soda  on  crops  of  high  value, 
as,  for  example,  early  tomatoes,  beets,  cabbage,  etc.  This 
is  an  extraordinary  return  for  the  money  and  labor  invested ; 


90  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

still,  if  the  increased  value  of  the  crop  were  but  $10,  or  even 
$8,  it  would  be  a  profitable  investment,  since  no  more  land 
and  but  little  additional  capital  was  required  in  order  to 
obtain  the  extra  $5  or  $8  per  acre. 

The  results  of  all  the  experiments  conducted  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  and  in  different  seasons,  show  an  aver- 
age gain  in  yield  of  early  tomatoes  of  about  fifty  per  cent, 
with  an  average  increased  value  of  crop  of  about  $100  per 
acre.  The  rest  of  the  report  shows  similar  results  with  other 
crops.  (New  Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bul- 
letin 172.) 

Joseph  Harris  says,  "  Some  years  ago  we  used  nitrate  of  soda 
cautiously  as  a  top  dressing  on  the  celery  plants.  The  effect 
was  astonishing.  The  next  year,  having  more  confidence,  we 
spread  the  nitrate  at  the  time  we  sowed  the  seed,  and  again 
after  the  plant  came  up,  and  twice  afterward  during  a  rain. 

"  Instead  of  finding  it  difficult  to  get  the  plants  early  enough 
for  the  celery  growers  who  set  them  out,  they  were  ready 
three  weeks  before  the  usual  time  of  transplanting. 

"At  the  four  applications,  we  probably  used  1600  Ib.  of 
nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  and  this  would  probably  furnish 
more  nitric  acid  to  the  plants  than  they  could  get  from  five 
hundred  tons  of  manure  per  acre,  provided  it  had  been  pos- 
sible to  have  worked  such  a  quantity  into  the  soil.  Never 
were  finer  plants  grown.  As  compared  with  the  increased 
value  of  the  plants,  the  cost  of  the  nitrate  is  not  worth 
taking  into  consideration." 

As  a  means  of  fertilization  without  the  use  of  artificial 
fertilizer,  soil  inoculation  has  come.  It  has  grown  out  of 
the  discovery  of  the  dependence  of  leguminous  plants  on 
bacteria  which  live  on  their  roots.  The  discovery  is  one  of 
the  most  important  of  those  made  in  modern  agriculture. 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL          91 

It  has  received  its  greatest  impetus  in  America,  under  the 
experiments  of  Professor  Moore  of  the  United  States  Agri- 
cultural Department. 

The  Department  supplied  free  to  farmers  the  bacteria 
for  inoculation.  Now  they  supply  it  only  for  experimental 
purposes.  A  laboratory  has  been  fitted  up  for  the  work. 
The  method  is  to  propagate  bacteria  for  each  of  the  various 
leguminous  plants  such  as  clover,  alfalfa,  soy  beans,  cow 
peas,  tares,  and  velvet  beans.  .All  of  these  plants  are  of 
incalculable  value  hi  different  sections  of  the  country  as 
forage  for  farm  animals.  In  the  West,  alfalfa  is  the  main 
reliance  for  stockraisers.  The  fanners  of  the  East  are 
trying  to  establish  it,  but  meet  with  difficulty  chiefly  for 
want  of  the  special  bacteria  which  should  be  found  on  the 
roots. 

The  function  of  these  bacteria  is  to  gather  the  nitrogen  of 
the  air  and  supply  it  as  plant  food.  Without  the  bacteria 
the  plant  can  get  only  the  nitrogen  which  is  supplied  from 
the  soil  in  fertilizers.  With  the  aid  of  the  bacteria  the  grow- 
ing plant  can  derive  the  greater  part  of  its  food  from  the  air. 

Here  is  one  of  the  results  of  the  use  of  inoculated  seed  as 
reported  by  the  United  States  Agricultural  Bulletin  No.  214. 

G.  L.  Thomas,  experimenting  with  field  peas  on  his  farm 
near  Auburn,  Me.,  made  a  special  test  with  fertilized  and 
unfertilized  strips,  and  stated  that  "inoculated  seed  did  as 
much  without  fertilizers  of  any  kind,  as  uninoculated  seed 
supplied  with  fertilizer  (phosphate)  at  the  rate  of  800  pounds 
and  a  ton  of  barnyard  manure  per  acre." 

This  seems  to  be  only  in  its  infancy.  The  Department 
warns  us  that  nitrogen  inoculation  is  useless  where  the  soil 
already  has  enough  nitrogen  and  where  other  plant  foods 
are  absent. 


92  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

The  experiments  are  most  important,  and  we  are  probably 
on  the  eve  of  as  great  advances  in  agriculture  as  in  electricity, 
but  the  human  race  has  a  great  love  for  "  inoculation, "  and 
indeed  for  all  unnatural  processes. 

You  remember  the  story  of  the  wonderful  coon  that  Chand- 
ler Harris  tells?  No?  They  were  constantly  seeing  this 
enormous  coon,  but  always  just  as  they  almost  got  their 
hands  on  him,  he  disappeared.  One  night  the  boys  came 
running  in  to  say  that  the  wonderful  coon  was  up  in  a  per- 
simmon tree  in  the  middle  of  a  ten-acre  lot ;  so  they  got  the 
dogs  and  the  lanterns  and  guns  and  ran  out,  and  sure  enough 
they  saw  the  wonderful  big  coon  up  in  a  fork  of  the  tree. 
It  was  a  bright  moonlight  night,  but  to  make  doubly  sure 
they  cut  down  the  tree  and  the  dogs  ran  in  —  the  coon 
wasn't  there. 

"Well,  but,  Uncle  Remus,"  said  the  little  boy,  "I  thought 
you  said  you  saw  the  coon  there." 

"  So  we  did,  Honey,"  said  the  old  man,  "  so  we  did ;  but  it's 
very  easy  to  see  what  ain't  there  when  you're  looking  for  it." 

Another  method  of  increasing  fertility  at  increased  ex- 
pense deserves  notice.  The  vacant  public  lands  are  for  the 
most  part  desert-like,  and  their  utilization  can  come  about 
only  through  irrigation. 

This  land  can  be  made  to  produce  the  finest  crops  in  the 
world;  and  the  tremendous  volumes  of  water  that  flow 
from  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  once  harnessed  and  piped  or 
ditched  to  this  land,  will  transform  it  into  beautiful  gardens 
and  farms. 

With  the  work  being  done  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment, and  that  of  the  various  states,  we  may  look  forward 
in  the  not  distant  future  to  this  land  being  made  habitable 
to  man. 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL          93 

It  is  well  known  that  with  the  dry,  even  climate  and  with 
an  abundance  of  water  applied  as  vegetation  needs,  this 
now  arid  waste  is  far  more  productive  than  the  Eastern 
states,  where  the  crops  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  elements, 
sometimes  having  too  much  moisture  and  at  other  tunes  not 
having  enough. 

"Irrigation  offers  control  of  conditions  such  as  is  found  no- 
where except  in  greenhouse  culture.  The  farmer  in  the  humid 
country  cannot  control  the  amount  of  starch  in  potatoes, 
sugar  in  beets,  protein  in  corn,  gluten  in  wheat,  except  by 
planting  varieties  which  are  especially  adapted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  desired  quality.  The  irrigation  farmer,  on 
the  other  hand,  can  produce  this  or  that  desirable  quality 
by  the  control  of  the  moisture  supply  to  the  plant.  He  can 
hasten  or  retard  maturity  of  the  plant,  produce  early  truck 
or  late  truck  on  the  same  soil,  grow  wheat  or  grow  rice  as 
he  deems  advisable." 

"On  the  irrigated  fields  of  the  Vosges,  Vaucluse,  etc.,  in 
France,  six  tons  of  dry  hay  becomes  the  rule,  even  upon 
ungrateful  soil ;  and  this  means  considerably  more  than  the 
annual  food  of  one  milch  cow  (which  can  be  taken  as  a  little 
less  than  five  tons)  grown  on  each  acre." 

"The  irrigated  meadows  round  Milan  are  another  well- 
known  example.  Nearly  22,000  acres  are  irrigated  there 
with  water  derived  from  the  sewers  of  the  city,  and  they 
yield  crops  of  from  eight  to  ten  tons  of  hay  as  a  rule;  oc- 
casionally some  separate  meadows  will  yield  the  fabulous 
amount  —  fabulous  to-day  but  no  longer  fabulous  to-mor- 
row —  of  eighteen  tons  of  hay  per  acre ;  that  is,  the  food  of 
nearly  four  cows  to  the  acre,  and  nine  times  the  yield  of  good 
meadows  in  this  country."  ("Fields,  Factories,  and  Work- 
shops," pages  116-117.) 


94  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

"  If  irrigation  pays  "  —  and  no  one  now  questions  that  — 
"the  whole  Western  country  of  rich  soil,  which  asks  but  a 
drink  now  and  then,  will  be  turned  into  a  Garden  of  Eden." 
(Maxwell's  Talisman.) 

Agriculture  may  be  revolutionized  with  the  advent  of 
irrigation. 

A  new  method  of  disposing  of  sewage  and  at  the  same  time 
irrigating  the  soil,  has  come  into  use  recently,  and  will  be 
found  valuable  to  those  who  are  situated  so  that  they  can 
make  use  of  it. 

The  sewage  from  buildings  is  drained  into  a  large  tank 
where  the  heavier  matter  can  settle  to  the  bottom.  When 
the  water  rises  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  tank  it  is  siphoned 
into  another  tank,  and  from  there  it  is  piped  about  the 
field. 

The  piping  is  very  simple  —  ordinary  drain  tile  conveys 
the  water.  Beginning  at  the  highest  point  of  the  field  to  be 
irrigated,  a  six-inch  (or  larger)  line  of  tile  should  be  laid 
along  the  highest  ground  with  a  fall  of  not  over  one  inch 
to  each  ten  feet.  From  this  main  trunk  should  be  branch 
lines  of  "laterals,"  laid  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  apart,  as 
they  would  be  laid  for  draining  a  field.  These  branch  lines 
may  be  laid  at  an  angle  to  the  main  trunk  as  may  be  most 
convenient;  all  the  joints  must  be  covered  so  as  to  keep 
out  the  dirt.  The  whole  system  should  be  laid  deep  enough 
in  the  ground  to  be  secure  from  frost ;  but  to  be  most  effec- 
tive it  should  not  be  over  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches  below 
the  surface,  hence  sub-irrigation  cannot  be  used  very  suc- 
cessfully in  the  Northern  states.  In  a  sandy  loam  soil  with 
a  clay  subsoil  it  works  best  at  sixteen  to  twenty-four  inches. 

This  is  substantially  Colonel  Waring's  method  of  sewage 
disposal.  To  get  the  best  use  of  it  for  plants,  the  water  should 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL          95 

be  assembled  and  kept  in  the  sun  for  ten  to  twelve  days, 
then  turned  into  the  pipes  until  the  ground  is  well  soaked, 
and  then  shut  off  and  not  allowed  in  the  pipes  again  for  ten 
to  fifteen  days,  according  to  the  weather  and  condition  of 
moisture  in  the  soil.  The  crop  should  be  cultivated  between 
each  watering. 

However,  as  Bailey  says,  "Evidently  in  all  regions  in 
which  crops  will  yield  abundantly  without  irrigation,  as  in 
the  East,  the  main  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  good  tillage." 

"Most  vegetable  gardeners  in  the  East  do  not  find  it  prof- 
itable to  irrigate.  Now  and  then  a  man  who  has  push  and 
the  ability  to  handle  a  fine  crop  to  advantage,  finds  it  a  very 
profitable  undertaking."  ("Principles  of  Vegetable  Gar- 
dening," page  174.)  Bailey,  however,  was  not  thinking  of 
"  overhead  irrigation." 

The  late  J.  M.  Smith,  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  was  one  of 
the  expert  market  gardeners  of  his  region.  "The  longer  I 
live,"  wrote  Mr.  Smith,  then  in  the  midst  of  a  serious  drought, 
"the  more  firmly  am  I  convinced  that  plenty  of  manure 
and  then  the  most  complete  system  of  cultivation  make  an 
almost  complete  protection  against  ordinary  droughts." 
(Same,  page  330.) 

If  the  soil  is  cultivated  carefully  and  intensively,  it  will 
hold  water  within  itself  and  carry  a  storage  reservoir  under- 
neath the  growing  crop.  Finely  pulverizing  and  packing 
the  seed  bed,  makes  it  retain  the  greatest  possible  percent- 
age of  the  moisture  that  falls,  just  as  a  tumbler  full  of  fine 
sponge  or  of  birdshot  will  retain  many  times  the  amount  of 
water  that  a  tumbler  full  of  buckshot  will.  The  atmos- 
phere quickly  drinks  up  the  moisture  from  the  soil  unless  we 
prevent  it.  This  we  do  by  means  of  a  soil  "blanket,"  called 
a  "mulch."  This  finely  pulverized  surface  largely  prevents 


96  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

the  moisture  below  from  evaporating,  and  at  the  same  time 
keeps  the  surface  in  such  condition  that  it  readily  absorbs 
the  dew  and  the  showers.  Water  moves  in  the  soil  as  it 
does  in  a  lamp  wick,  by  capillary  attraction ;  the  more  deeply 
and  densely  the  soil  is  saturated  with  moisture,  the  more 
easily  the  water  moves  upward,  just  as  oil  "climbs  up"  a 
wet  wick  faster  than  it  does  a  dry  one.  One  can  illustrate 
the  effect  of  this  fine  soil  "mulch"  in  preventing  evaporation 
by  placing  some  powdered  sugar  on  a  lump  of  loaf  sugar  and 
putting  the  lump  sugar  in  water.  The  powdered  sugar  will 
remain  dry  even  when  the  lump  has  become  so  thoroughly 
saturated  that  it  crumbles  to  pieces. 

"We  have  no  useless  American  acres,"  said  Secretary 
Wilson.  "We  shall  make  them  all  productive.  We  have 
agricultural  explorers  in  every  far  corner  of  the  world ;  and 
they  are  finding  crops  which  have  become  so  acclimated  to 
dry  conditions,  similar  to  our  own  West,  that  we  shall  in 
time  have  plants  thriving  upon  our  so-called  arid  lands. 
We  shall  cover  this  arid  area  with  plants  of  various  sorts 
which  will  yield  hundreds  of  millions  of  tons  of  additional 
forage  and  grains  for  Western  flocks  and  herds.  Our  farmers 
will  grow  these  upon  land  now  considered  practically  worth- 
less." 

In  this  way  it  has  been  estimated  that  in  the  neighborhood 
of  one  hundred  million  acres  of  the  American  desert  can  be 
reclaimed  to  the  most  intensive  agriculture.1  Frederick  V. 
Coville,  the  chief  botanist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  the  strictly  arid  regions 
there  are  many  millions  of  acres,  now  considered  worthless 

1  See  a  study  of  the  possible  additions  to  available  land  in  Prof. 
W.  S.  Thompson's  "Population,  a  Study  of  Malthusianism,"  Col. 
U.,  1915. 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM   CAPITAL          97 

for  agriculture,  which  are  as  certain  to  be  settled  in  small 
farms  as  were  the  lands  of  Illinois. 

Land  that  was  thought  to  be  absolute  desert  has  been 
made  to  yield  heavy  crops  of  grain  and  forage  by  this  method 
without  irrigation. 

Macaroni  wheat  will  grow  with  ten  inches  of  rainfall, 
and  yield  fifteen  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  however  is  less 
than  the  average  wheat  yield  in  the  United  States. 

Much  can  be  done  by  dry  fanning ;  that  is,  by  plowing  the 
soil  very  deep  and  cultivating  six  or  eight  times  a  season, 
thus  retaining  all  the  moisture  for  the  crops  and  reducing 
evaporation  to  a  minimum. 

There  are  thousands  of  acres  in  different  sections  of  Mon- 
tana that  grow  good  crops  without  irrigation.  In  Fergus 
County,  for  instance,  the  wonderful  yield  of  45  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre  is  grown  without  irrigation.  Heavy  crops 
of  grain  and  vegetables  are  grown  in  the  vicinity  of  Great 
Falls  by  the  dry  farming  system. 

The  money  and  time  spent  in  spraying  is  also  well  in- 
vested. The  New  York  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
began  a  ten-year  experiment  in  potato-spraying  to  determine 
how  much  the  yield  can  be  increased  by  spraying  with 
Pyrox  or  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 

In  1904  the  gain  due  to  spraying  was  larger  than  ever 
before.  Five  sprayings  with  Bordeaux  increased  the  yield 
233  bushels  per  acre,  while  three  sprayings  increased  it  191 
bushels.  The  gain  was  due  chiefly  to  the  prolongation  of 
growth  through  the  prevention  of  late  blight.  The  sprayed 
potatoes  contained  one  ninth  more  starch  and  were  of  better 
quality. 

The  average  increase  of  profit  per  acre  from  spraying 
potatoes  was  figured  to  be  about  $22  on  each  acre.  The 
H 


98  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

result  was  arrived  at  from  experiment,  two  thirds  of  which 
was  by  independent  farmers.  (Particulars  will  be  found  in 
Bulletin  No.  264,  issued  by  the  Department.) 

In  fourteen  farmers'  business  experiments,  including  18 
acres  of  potatoes,  the  average  gain  due  to  spraying  was  62| 
bushels  per  acre,  the  average  total  cost  of  spraying  93  cents 
per  acre;  and  the  average  net  profit,  based  on  the  market 
price  of  potatoes  at  digging  time,  $24.86  per  acre. 

"One  class  of  gardeners,"  Burnet  Landreth  explains, 
"may  be  termed  experimental  farmers,  men  tired  of  the 
humdrum  rotation  of  farm  processes  and  small  profits,  men 
looking  for  a  paying  diversification  of  their  agricultural  in- 
terests. Their  expenses  for  appliances  are  not  great,  as 
they  have  already  on  hand  the  usual  stock  of  farm  tools, 
requiring  only  one  or  two  seed  drills,  a  small  addition  to 
their  cultivating  implements,  and  a  few  tons  of  fertilizers. 
Their  laborers  and  teams  are  always  on  hand  for  the  work- 
ing of  moderate  areas.  In  addition  to  the  usual  expense  of 
the  farm,  they  would  not  need  to  have  a  cash  capital  of  be- 
yond 20  to  25  dollars  per  acre  for  the  area  in  truck." 

"Other  men,  purchasing  or  renting  land,  especially  for 
market  gardening,  taking  only  improved  land  of  suitable 
aspect,  soil,  and  situation,  and  counting  in  cost  of  building, 
appliances,  and  labor,  would  require  a  capital  of  $80  to  $100 
per  acre.  For  example,  a  beginner  in  market  gardening  in 
South  Jersey,  on  a  five-acre  patch,  would  need  $500  to  set 
up  the  business,  and  run  it  until  his  shipments  began  to 
return  him  money.  With  the  purpose  of  securing  informa- 
tion on  this  interesting  point,  the  writer  asked  for  estimates 
from  market  gardeners  in  different  localities,  and  the  result 
has  been  that  from  Florida  the  reports  of  the  necessary 
capital  per  acre,  in  land  or  its  rental  (not  of  labor),  ferti- 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL          99 

lizers,  tools,  implements,  seed  and  all  the  appliances, 
average  $95,  from  Texas  $45,  from  Illinois  $70,  from  the 
Norfolk  district  of  Virginia  the  reports  vary  from  $75  to 
$125,  according  to  location,  and  from  Long  Island,  New  York, 
the  average  of  estimates  at  the  east  end  is  $75,  and  at  the 
west  end  $150." 

I  have  before  me  now  one  of  the  roseate  advertisements, 
which  we  so  often  see  in  the  newspapers,  telling  how  fortunes 
can  be  made  by  investing  a  few  dollars  in  a  tropical  planta- 
tion in  Mexico. 

It  gives  what  are  supposed  to  be  startling  yields  per  acre, 
and  yet  the  returns,  which  must  necessarily  be  taken  with 
considerable  allowance,  are  only  from  $580  to  $1087  per 
acre  on  various  plantations. 

There  are  market  gardeners  and  nurserymen  near  New 
York  City  who  are  making  their  acres  produce  better  returns 
than  this.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  off  into  the  tropical 
wilderness  seeking  a  fortune  which  is  usually  a  gold  brick 
that  some  fellow  is  trying  to  sell  you,  when  as  good  results 
can  be  secured  right  at  home. 

Market  gardeners  in  and  near  Philadelphia  pay  $25  to 
$50  an  acre  and  upwards  rent  for  land,  and  work  from  five 
to  forty  acres.  This  is  as  much  as  similar  land  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  could  be  bought  for.  But  it  is  not  a 
high  rent  when  they  are  right  at  the  market  —  one  man 
makes  the  round  trip  in  two  and  one  half  hours  —  manure 
costs  them  nothing  —  for  years  they  have  been  using  the 
excavations  from  the  old  style  privy  wells,  which  has  been 
hauled  to  their  farm  and  deposited  where  they  wished  it, 
free.  They  have  modern  facilities,  such  as  trolley  and  tele- 
phone, and  are  as  much  city  men  as  any  clerk  in  an  office. 
They  clear  far  higher  profits  from  an  acre  than  the  average 


100  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

farmer,  raising  never  less  than  two,  and  often  three  crops 
in  a  season.  They  employ  several  men  to  the  acre,  and  at 
certain  times  many  more,  working  the  men  in  gangs.  Only 
the  difficulty  of  getting  good  help  at  their  prices  prevents 
them  from  using  twice  the  number. 

However,  the  possibilities  of  putting  capital  into  land  at 
a  profit  are  still  infinite. 

What  chiefly  attracts  the  gardener  to  the  great  cities  is 
stable  manure;  this  is  not  wanted  so  much  for  increasing 
the  richness  of  the  soil  —  one  ninth  part  of  the  manure  used 
by  the  French  gardeners  would  do  for  that  purpose  —  but 
for  keeping  the  soil  at  a  certain  temperature.  Early  vege- 
tables pay  best,  and  in  order  to  obtain  early  produce,  not 
only  the  air,  but  the  soil  as  well,  must  be  warmed ;  that  is 
done  by  putting  great  quantities  of  properly  mixed  manure 
into  the  soil ;  its  fermentation  heats  it.  But  with  the  present 
development  of  industrial  skill,  heating  the  soil  could  be 
done  more  economically  and  more  easily  by  hot-water  pipes. 
Consequently,  the  French  gardeners  begin  more  and  more  to 
make  use  of  portable  pipes,  or  thermosiphons,  provisionally 
established  in  the  cool  frames. 

Competition  that  stands  in  with  the  railroads  can  be  met 
only  by  being  near  the  market  or  having  water  transporta- 
tion. Indeed,  the  effect  of  water  transportation  in  getting 
manure,  and  in  delivering  the  produce  from  the  railroads, 
appears  in  the  early  history  of  trucking.  The  railroads 
often  crush  out  boat  competition  by  absorbing  docks  and 
standing  in  with  the  commission  men.  This  could  be  met 
by  such  cooperative  selling  agencies  as  the  flower  growers 
already  have. 

"One  of  the  earliest  centers  for  the  development  of  truck 
farming  in  its  present  sense  was  along  the  shores  of  Chesa- 


THE  ADVANTAGES  FROM  CAPITAL        101 

peake  Bay,  where  fast  sailing  oyster  boats  were  employed 
for  sending  the  produce  to  the  neighboring  markets  of  Balti- 
more and  Philadelphia.  In  a  similar  way  the  gardeners  about 
New  York  early  began  pushing  out  along  Long  Island,  using 
the  waters  of  the  Sound  for  transporting  their  produce.  The 
trucking  region  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  is 
another  sample  of  the  effect  of  convenient  water  transpor- 
tation in  causing  an  early  development  of  this  industry.  The 
building  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  opened  up  a  region 
in  southern  Illinois  that  was  supposed  to  be  particularly 
adapted  to  fruit  growing."  ("Development  of  the  Trucking 
Interests,"  by  F.  S.  Earle,  page  439.) 

If  one  goes  into  the  trucking  business  on  so  large  a  scale 
as  to  be  able  to  make  deals  with  the  railroads,  such  as  The 
Standard  Oil  Company  has  made,  of  course  additional  prices 
could  be  gotten,  owing  to  the  possibility  of  putting  competi- 
tors at  a  disadvantage.  That  business  is  a  large  one. 

In  doing  business  on  this  scale,  much  will  depend  on  your 
ability  as  a  merchant. 

"It  is  useless  to  grow  good  crops  unless  they  can  be  sold 
at  a  profit;  yet  it  is  safe  to  say  that  ten  men  grow  good 
truck  crops  for  one  who  markets  them  to  the  best  advantage." 


CHAPTER  XI 

HOTBEDS  AND  GREENHOUSES 

WHETHER  to  get  an  early  start  on  the  garden  or  for  raising 
plants  for  field  crops,  a  hotbed  is  all  but  indispensable.  In 
making  a  hotbed  what  we  seek  to  do  is  to  imitate  Nature 
at  her  best,  so  get  the  best  soil  and  the  sunniest  spot  you  can 
find. 

In  all  hotbeds  the  underlying  principle  is  the  same : 
They  are  right-angled  boxes  covered  with  glass  panes  set 
hi  movable  frames  and  placed  over  heated  excavations. 
The  bed  may  be  of  any  size  or  shape,  but  the  standard  one 
is  six  feet  wide,  since  the  stock  glass  frames  are  usually  six 
feet  long  by  three  feet  wide.  You  can  have  any  length 
needed  to  supply  your  requirements.  "Tomato  Culture," 
by  A.  J.  Root,  tells  us  that  the  cheapest  plan  is  to  get  some 
old  planks,  broken  brickbats  or  stone,  and  piece  together  a 
box-like  affair  in  proper  shape:  to  provide  drainage,  the 
front  should  be  at  least  ten  inches  above  the  ground  and  the 
rear  fourteen  inches.  A  hotbed  knocked  together  in  this 
way  is  all  right  to  start  with,  if  you  cannot  do  any  better, 
but  will  last  only  two  or  three  seasons.  For  a  permanent 
bed,  probably  the  best  way  is  to  make  cement  walls  extend- 
ing to  the  bottom  of  the  manure.  The  bed  ought  to  face 
south  or  southeast  and  be  well  protected  on  the  north.  It 
should  be  banked  all  around  with  earth  or  straw  to  keep  out 
the  cold,  and  mats  or  shutters  should  be  provided  for  extra 
cold  weather.  The  best  material  for  heating  the  bed  and  the 

102 


HOTBEDS  AND  GREENHOUSES  103 

most  easily  obtained,  is  fresh  horse  manure  in  which  there 
is  a  quantity  of  straw  or  litter.  This  will  give  out  a  slow, 
moist  heat  and  will  not  burn  out  before  the  crops  or  the 
plants  mature.  Get  all  the  manure  you  need  at  one  tune. 
Pile  it  in  a  dry  place  and  let  it  ferment;  every  few  days 
work  the  pile  over  thoroughly  with  a  dung  fork ;  sometimes 
two  turnings  of  the  manure  are  enough,  but  it  is  better  to 
let  it  stand  and  heat  three  or  four  tunes. 

"You  can  make  a  hotbed  also  on  top  of  the  ground  with- 
out any  excavation.  Spread  a  layer  of  manure  evenly  one 
foot  in  depth  and  large  enough  to  extend  around  the  frame 
three  feet  each  way.  Pack  this  down  well,  especially  around 
the  edge,  put  on  a  second  and  third  layer  until  you  have  a 
well-trodden  and  compact  bed  of  manure  at  least  two  and 
one  half  feet  in  depth.  Place  the  frame  in  the  center  of  this 
bed  and  press  it  down  well."  A  two-inch  layer  of  decayed 
leaves,  cut  straw,  or  corn  fodder,  spread  over  the  manure 
in  the  frame  and  well  packed  down,  will  help  to  retain  the 
heat.  Ventilate  the  bed  every  day  to  allow  steam  and 
ammonia  fumes  to  pass  off. 

"The  soil  inside  should  be  equal  parts  of  garden  loam 
and  well-rotted  barnyard  manure.  Tramp  well  the  first 
layer  of  three  inches.  To  make  it  entirely  safe  for  the  plant 
seeds  in  the  hotbed,  add  another  layer  of  the  same  depth. 
Use  no  water  with  garden  loam  and  manure  if  you  can  pos- 
sibly help  it." 

"Before  sowing  any  seeds  put  a  thermometer  in  the  bed 
three  inches  deep  in  the  soil.  If  it  runs  over  80  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  do  not  sow.  If  below  55  degrees  it  is  too  cold ; 
you  will  have  to  fork  it  over  and  add  more  manure.  If  the 
bed  gets  too  hot,  you  can  ventilate  it  with  a  sharp  stick  by 
thrusting  it  down  into  the  soil." 


104  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

Another  way  that  the  old  gardeners  have  to  make  a  hot- 
bed is  with  fire.  On  a  large  scale  this  is  cheaper,  though 
more  complicated  than  the  fermentation  of  manure.  In 
making  this  kind  choose  your  location  and  build  the  frames 
as  before.  "Cut  a  trench  with  a  slight  taper  from  the  east 
end  of  the  plot  to  the  end  of  the  hotbed,  and  on  under  the 
ground  to  about  four  feet  beyond  the  end  of  the  bed.  This 
taper  to  the  outlet  will  create  a  draught  and  so  keep  a  better 
fire.  Arch  this  over  with  vitrified  tile.  The  furnace  end 
where  the  fire  is  should  be  about  six  feet  away  from  the  bed. 
When  the  trenches  are  completed,  cover  over  with  the  dirt 
that  was  taken  out  of  them.  Two  such  trenches  under  the 
frames  will  make  a  good  hotbed.  Any  one  can  do  this  sort 
of  work." 

A  hotbed  can  also  be  heated  by  running  steam  pipes 
through  the  ground,  but  unless  you  happen  to  be  where 
exhaust  steam  could  be  used,  this  method  is  not  economical 
except  for  big  houses.  The  care  and  expense  of  a  separate 
steam  plant  would  be  too  great  to  pay,  unless  for  growing 
winter  vegetables  for  market  or  flower  culture.  If  you  go 
into  that  on  a  scale  large  enough  to  pay,  new  problems  at 
once  demand  solution. 

Vegetables  under  glass  have  kept  pace  with  other  crops. 
Within  fifteen  miles  of  Boston  are  millions  of  square  feet  of 
glass  devoted  to  vegetables,  chiefly  lettuce.  There  are 
more  than  five  million  feet  in  the  United  States  used  for 
other  crops.  Ordinarily,  under  favorable  conditions,  glass 
devoted  to  this  work  will  yield  an  average  of  fifty  cents 
per  year  per  square  foot. 

About  the  lowest  estimate  of  cost  per  sash  is  five  dollars ; 
this  amount  includes  the  cost  of  one  fourth  of  the  frame  and 
covers.  There  are  usually  four  sashes  to  one  frame.  A 


HOTBEDS  AND  GREENHOUSES  105 

well-made  mortised  plank  frame  costs  four  to  six  dollars. 
A  sash,  unglazed,  costs  from  one  to  two  dollars.  Glazing 
costs  seventy-five  cents.  Mats  and  shutters  cost  from  fifty 
cents  to  two  dollars  per  sash,  depending  upon  the  material 
used.  Double  thick  glass  pays  better  hi  the  end  as  being 
less  liable  to  breakage.  These  prices  vary  greatly,  however. 

The  following  sample  estimate  by  a  gardener  is  for  a  mar- 
ket garden  of  one  acre,  in  which  it  is  desired  to  grow  a  gen- 
eral line  of  vegetables.  It  supposes  that  half  of  the  acre 
is  to  be  set  with  plants  from  hotbeds. 

One  eighth  acre  to  early  cauliflower  and  cabbage,  about 
2000  plants,  if  transplanted,  would  require  two  6  X  12 
frames,  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  plants 
being  grown  under  each  sash. 

These  frames  may  be  used  again  for  tomato  plants  for 
the  same  area,  using  about  450  plants.  This  will  allow  a 
sash  for  every  55  plants. 

One  frame  should  be  in  use  at  the  same  time  for  eggplants 
and  peppers,  two  sashes  of  each,  growing  fifty  transplanted 
plants  under  each  sash. 

Two  frames  will  be  required  for  cucumbers,  melons,  and 
early  squashes ;  for  extra  early  lettuce,  an  estimate  of  sixty 
to  seventy  heads  should  be  made  to  a  sash.  It  is  assumed 
that  celery  and  late  cabbages  are  to  be  started  in  seed  beds 
in  the  open. 

In  the  fashionable  suburbs  of  Boston  "  one  hotbed  3X6 
feet  was  used  in  which  to  start  the  seeds  of  early  vegetables. 
Plantings  were  made  in  the  open  ground  as  soon  as  the 
weather  permitted,  and  were  continued  at  intervals  through- 
out the  season  whenever  there  was  a  vacant  spot  in  the 
garden.  The  following  varieties  of  vegetables,  mostly  five- 
and  ten-cent  packets,  were  planted :  Pole  and  wax  beans, 


106  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

beets,  kale,  cabbage,  carrots,  cauliflower,  celery,  corn,  cu- 
cumbers, corn  salad,  endive,  eggplant,  kohlrabi,  lettuce, 
muskmelon,  onions,  peppers,  peas,  salsify,  radish,  spinach, 
squash,  tomatoes,  turnips,  rutabagas,  escarole,  chives, 
shallot,  parsley,  sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  and  nearly  a  dozen 
different  kinds  of  sweet  herbs." 

"In  the  larger  garden,  tomatoes  followed  peas,  turnips 
the  wax  beans,  early  lettuce  for  fall  use  took  the  place  of 
Refugee  beans.  Corn  salad  succeeded  lettuce." 

"The  spinach  was  followed  by  cabbage,  while  turnips, 
beets,  carrots,  celery,  and  spinach  gave  a  second  crop  in  the 
plot  occupied  by  Gardus  peas  and  Emperor  William  beans." 

"  Winter  radishes  came  after  telephone  peas,  Paris  Golden 
celery  was  planted  in  between  the  hills  of  Stowell's  blanching. 
The  plot  of  early  corn  was  sown  to  turnips.  The  hotbed 
was  used  during  the  late  fall  and  winter  to  store  some  of  the 
hardy  vegetables,  and  the  latter  part  of  October  there  was 
placed  in  it  some  endive,  escarole,  celeriac,  and  the  remain- 
ing space  was  filled  up  by  transplanting  leeks,  chives,  and 
parsley."  (Bailey,  "Principles  of  Vegetable  Gardening," 
page  38.) 

"If  spinach  is  grown  hi  frames,  the  sash  used  for  one  of 
the  late  crops  above  may  be  used  through  the  following 
winter. 

"This,  like  the  last  case,  makes  a  total  of  five  frames, 
the  cost,  depending  on  make  and  material,  from  one  to  five 
dollars ;  twenty  sash  and  covers,  at,  say,  $2.75,  $55 ;  manure 
at  market  price,  calculating  at  least  three  or  four  loads  per 
frame.  This  is  a  liberal  estimate  of  space,  and  should  allow 
for  all  ordinary  loss  of  plants,  and  for  discarding  the  weak 
and  inferior  ones.  It  supposes  that  most  or  all  of  the  plants 
are  to  be  transplanted  once  or  more  in  the  frames.  Many 


HOTBEDS  AND  GREENHOUSES  107 

gardeners  have  less  equipment  of  glass."  (Same,  pages 
49-50.) 

Growing  vegetables  under  glass  gives  smaller  returns 
than  flowers ;  as,  for  instance,  a  head  of  lettuce  brings  much 
less  than  a  plant  of  carnations,  and  suffers  more  from  the 
competition  of  southern  crops.  Nevertheless,  the  green- 
house-grown vegetables  have  come  into  prominence  lately 
because  they  can  be  raised  in  houses  that  are  not  good  enough 
for  flowers.  Lettuce  and  tomatoes  are  the  principal  crops ; 
some  growers  raise  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  each  year. 
The  greenhouse  is  also  used  for  forcing  plants  which  are 
afterwards  transplanted  to  the  open  air.  This  develops 
them  at  a  tune  when  they  could  not  grow  outdoors  and  gives 
them  such  a  start  that  they  are  very  early  on  the  market, 
thereby  realizing  the  highest  prices. 

"Nearness  to  market  is  the  most  important  feature  in 
a  greenhouse.  In  large  cities,  manure,  which  is  the  chief 
fertilizer,  can  be  had  in  most  cases  for  the  hauling.  The 
short  haul  is  an  important  item,  and,  most  important  of  all, 
the  gardener  who  is  near  the  market  can  take  advantage 
of  high  prices,  if  the  grower  is  near  enough  to  the  city  to  make 
two  or  three  trips;  in  such  a  fluctuating  market  as  New 
York,  it  is  to  his  advantage." 

Some  land  of  a  greenhouse  is  necessary,  but  one  large 
enough  to  produce  a  living  would  cost  a  very  large  sum. 
Vegetable  raising  under  glass  has  been  made  profitable  in 
special  localities  where  nearly  the  whole  community  gives 
its  tune  to  building  up  the  industry,  but  complete  success 
can  be  attained  only  by  having  absolute  control  of  all  the 
conditions  entering  into  production,  and  giving  assiduous 
and  undivided  attention  to  detail. 

Leonard   Barren,  in  the  Garden  Magazine,  says:   "The 


108  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

best  type  of  greenhouse  for  all-round  purposes  is  unques- 
tionably what  is  known  as  the  even  span  —  that  is,  a  house 
hi  which  the  roof  is  in  the  form  of  an  inverted  V,  so  as  to  be 
exposed  as  much  as  possible  to  sunlight,  and  having  the  ridge- 
pole in  the  center.  All  other  types  of  houses  are  modifica- 
tions from  the  simplest  form,  and  are  designed  in  some  way 
or  other  to  fit  some  special  requirements.  These  require- 
ments may  be :  the  cultural  necessities  for  some  particular 
crop;  a  desire  to  have  the  atmospheric  conditions  inside 
more  or  less  abnormal  at  given  seasons  (as  in  a  forcing  house) ; 
or  an  adaptation  to  some  peculiarity  of  the  situation,  as  when 
a  greenhouse  is  built  as  an  adjunct  to  other  buildings." 

"It  is  plain  common  sense  that  the  ideal  greenhouse  is 
one  in  which  the  light  is  most  nearly  that  which  exists  out- 
side, and  in  which  the  heat  is  as  evenly  distributed.  It  is 
practical  experience  that  a  structure  with  as  few  angles 
and  turns  in  it  as  possible  and  with  a  minimum  of  woodwork 
in  its  superstructure,  best  answers  these  conditions.  .  .  . 
Greenhouse  building  has  developed  into  a  special  industry, 
and  the  modern  American  greenhouse  is  the  highest  type  of 
construction.  It  is  built  with  as  careful  calculation  to  its 
situation  and  its  requirements  as  is  the  country  dwelling- 
house.  Such  a  thing  naturally  is  not  cheap." 

"The  low-priced  'cheap  greenhouse'  is  a  makeshift  of 
some  sort.  Perhaps  its  roof  is  constructed  of  hotbed  sash, 
a  perfectly  feasible  method  of  construction,  which  for  or- 
dinary, commonplace  gardening  will  answer  admirably. 
Or,  its  foundation  is  merely  the  plain  earth.  Such  a  build- 
ing does  admirably  in  the  summer  tune,  and  even  in  the  late 
spring  and  early  autumn ;  but  woe  betide  the  enthusiastic 
amateur  in  winter,  who,  being  possessed  of  one  of  these 
light  greenhouse  structures,  has  indulged  in  a  few  costly, 


HOTBEDS  AND  GREENHOUSES  109 

exotic  plants.  They  will  be  frozen,  to  a  certainty!  It  is 
economy  to  pay  a  fair  price  in  the  beginning  to  secure  a  prop- 
erly built  greenhouse  that  will  withstand  the  trials  of  winter." 

"If  iron  frame  is  used  instead  of  wood,  there  is  greater  dura- 
bility, and  the  structure  being  more  slender,  will  admit 
more  light,  but  the  cost  will  be  increased." 

"  It  makes  very  little  difference  in  cost  what  shape  of  house 
is  to  be  erected.  The  cost  per  lineal  foot  for  an  even  span 
is  practically  the  same  as  for  a  lean-to  of  the  same  length 
and  width.  In  the  lean-to,  in  order  to  get  the  sufficient 
bench  and  walk  space  inside,  it  is  necessary  to  carry  the  roof 
to  a  point  much  higher  than  in  the  even  span.  The  extra 
framework  and  material  for  the  roof  cost  a  good  deal,  yet 
add  practically  nothing  to  the  efficiency  of  the  house." 

"Heating  of  greenhouses  is  best  done  by  hot  water,  and 
in  a  small  house  the  pipes  may  well  be  connected  with  the 
heating  system  used  for  the  dwelling,  if  the  greenhouse  and 
the  home  are  within  any  sort  of  reasonable  distance  from  each 
other.  For  large  houses,  or  ranges  of  several  houses  together, 
the  independent  heating  plant  is  necessary.  Steam  is  used 
for  heating  by  commercial  florists,  but  it  is  economical  only 
on  a  large  scale." 

"As  a  uniform  temperature  must  be  maintained  in  the 
house,  the  fires,  where  steam  is  used,  need  watching  contin- 
uously during  cold  weather,  for  the  moment  the  water 
ceases  to  boil,  the  pipes  cool  off,  and  a  considerable  time  is 
consumed  in  starting  the  heat  running  again.  With  hot 
water  there  is  much  more  latitude  in  attention,  for  though 
the  fires  dwindle,  the  water  which  fills  the  pipes  will  carry 
heat  for  a  long  time,  and  it  will  circulate  until  the  last  degree 
is  radiated.  But  a  hot-water  system  costs  in  the  installa- 
tion about  one  fourth  more  than  steam.  Very  small  houses 


110  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

may  be  successfully  heated  by  kerosene  stoves,  which  may 
be  placed  inside  the  house.  A  much  better  way  would  be  to 
use  oil  heaters  for  an  inside  water  circulation,  carrying  off 
all  products  of  combustion  by  means  of  a  flue.  Coal  stoves 
should  never  be  installed  inside  the  house.  It  has  been 
done  successfully  by  some  amateurs,  but  the  danger  of  coal 
gas  being  driven  back  into  the  house  by  a  down  draft  in  the 
chimney  is  too  great  a  risk.  Coal  gas  and  illuminating  gas 
are  two  virulent  poisons  to  plants." 

It  is  obvious  that  the  amateur  must  proceed  with  great 
caution  in  undertaking  intensive  cultivation  under  glass. 
Build  at  first  the  simplest  and  least  expensive  kind  of  hot- 
beds or  greenhouses.  It  takes  three  to  five  seasons  to 
train  even  an  experienced  farmer  along  these  special  lines. 
Separate  crops  require  special  treatment.  Do  not  experi- 
ment, but  follow  well-tried  procedure.  It  is  comparatively 
easy  to  farm  an  acre  under  glass,  but  it  should  be  worked 
up  to,  each  step  being  taken  only  after  a  solid  foundation 
is  ready  to  build  on.  Learn  by  your  mistakes.  Don't  get 
discouraged  by  failure.  By  not  making  the  same  mistake 
twice,  you  will  soon  learn  by  experience  just  what  is  essential 
to  production.  The  more  you  learn  about  the  way  nature 
does  things,  the  more  likely  you  will  be  to  succeed  when  you 
seek  to  imitate  her. 


CHAPTER  XII 

OTHER  USES  OF  LAND 

WE  had  intended  to  write  an  interesting  chapter  on  the 
use  of  a  few  acres  of  land  for  poultry,  and  another  on  rais- 
ing a  vast  drove  of  rabbits,  both  from  practical  men,  but  a 
good  average  man,  just  such  as  this  book  is  written  for,  sent 
the  following : 

"  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  cannot  comply  with  your  request 
to  write  a  chapter  on  poultry  for  your  new  book.  It  is  true 
that  I  am  physically  and  mentally  capable  of  performing 
that  feat,  and  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  prepare  an  essay 
that  might  entertain  the  reader,  and  even  make  him  believe 
that  there  is  money  in  commercial  poultry.  I  prefer,  how- 
ever, to  leave  that  sort  of  romancing  to  the  poultry  journals 
who,  by  much  practice,  are  adepts  in  the  art.  The  fact  is, 
I  did  not  make  poultry  raising  pay,  and  had  I  remained 
on  my  chicken  ranch,  I  would  have  gone  broke.  I  do  not 
mean  to  say,  however,  that  there  is  no  money  in  poultry, 
but  merely  that  I  could  not  get  it  out.  Perhaps  others  who 
are  better  equipped  for  the  work  can  make  a  success  of  such 
an  undertaking,  but  I  could  not.  The  numerous  poultry 
journals  are  filled  with  instructions  how  to  do  it  and  with 
letters  from  people  who  assert  that  they  have  done  well 
with  poultry ;  but,  really,  during  the  four  years  that  I  was 
in  the  business  I  cannot  recall  a  single  case  of  success,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  I  learned  of  failures  without  end.  I  had 

111 


112  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

the  reputation  of  having  the  best  planned  and  most  com- 
pletely equipped  plant  in  this  part  of  Washington,  and  per- 
haps in  the  entire  state.  My  stock  was  thoroughbred  and 
healthy,  and  they  seemed  to  attend  to  business  strictly.  I 
devoted  about  all  my  waking  hours  to  them,  did  everything 
that  seemed  necessary  that  was  suggested  by  my  own  suc- 
cess, and  yet  I  could  not  make  it  go,  am  glad  I  am  clear  of 
it,  and  have  no  desire  to  try  it  again.  I  am  perfectly  willing 
to  admit  my  possible  unfitness  for  the  business,  but  I  am  also 
compelled  to  admit  that  I  could  not  succeed  and  that  no 
advice  of  mine  could  help  others." 

Although  many,  either  under  exceptional  circumstances 
or  because  of  exceptional  ability,  have  made  a  success  of 
wholesale  poultry  raising,  it  seems  on  reflection  that  Mr. 
Wolf's  ideas  are  in  the  main  correct. 

The  price  of  chickens  is  fixed,  like  all  other  prices,  by 
supply  and  demand,  and  toward  the  supply  every  farmer 
contributes  his  chickens  and  their  eggs  which  cost  him 
practically  nothing;  at  least  he  counts  that  they  cost  him 
nothing. 

Now  it  is  clear  that  if  you  considerably  increase  the  sup- 
ply at  any  place,  the  price  will  fall,  and  the  farmer,  whose 
chickens  and  eggs  cost  him  almost  nothing  in  money,  will 
sell  them  low  enough  to  command  a  market  and  will  continue 
to  raise  them,  however  little  he  gets  for  them. 

So  you  are  against  inexhaustible  competitors  who  can 
neither  be  driven  out  nor  combined  with.  It  is  worse  than 
competing  with  bankrupt  dealers.  To  make  much  money 
you  must  have  at  least  some  monopoly,  and  even  a  little 
bit  of  the  earth  that  is  well  suited  to  your  purpose  where 
there  is  no  unreasonable  and  unreasoning  competition,  will 
give  you  a  chance. 


OTHER  USES  OF  LAND  113 

But  while  it  is  true  that  the  farmer's  subsidized  hens 
have  a  very  disastrous  effect  at  times  upon  the  market,  the 
fact  is  that,  notwithstanding  the  tariff,  we  import  millions 
of  dozens  of  eggs  laid  each  year  by  the  pauper  hens  of  Canada 
and  often  of  Denmark. 

Another  fact  to  be  considered  is,  that  it  is  when  eggs  are 
most  plentiful  that  the  farmers  depress  the  market.  With 
their  ways  of  handling  their  poultry,  their  hens  lay  only 
when  conditions  are  most  favorable,  and  in  the  winter  when 
eggs  are  as  high  as  fifty  cents  a  dozen  in  cities,  they  have 
no  eggs  to  market.  Like  the  market  gardener,  to  be  timely 
in  market  is  to  succeed.  A  week  may  mean  an  annihilation 
of  profits. 

It  is  a  different  proposition  to  raise  a  few  chickens  as  a 
side  line  as  the  farmers  do. 

A  workman  at  the  Connecticut  place  of  one  of  the  experts 
who  has  revised  this  book  had  a  bit  of  land  not  more  than 
100  X  200  feet,  and  for  several  years  cleared  $100  a  year  by 
raising  eggs  and  broilers,  doing  the  work  together  with  that 
of  a  little  garden  of  small  fruits  before  and  after  working 
hours.  The  chickens  fed  largely  on  green  food  in  summer. 

In  selling  your  surplus  at  a  profit,  the  same  principles 
apply  as  in  raising  a  surplus  to  sell  at  a  profit. 

While  poultry  and  egg  raising  does  not  require  that  you 
must  be  first,  it  does  require  that  you  market  your  produce 
at  a  time  when  the  prices  are  highest. 

You  must  hatch  at  a  time  which  will  allow  the  young 
hens  to  begin  laying  as  winter  approaches;  the  food  must 
keep  up  animal  heat  and  the  house  must  be  warm  enough 
to  make  the  hens  comfortable,  and  the  conditions  must  be 
such  as  to  keep  them  laying. 

As  an  experiment,  we  once  raised  six  pullets.    They  were 


114  THREE  AJRES  AND  LIBERTY 

hatched  in  May,  and  in  December  they  began  laying.  All 
during  the  winter  they  laid  never  less  than  four  and  some- 
times six  eggs  a  day,  and  kept  this  up  until  spring. 

They  were  fed  on  wheat  and  corn  and  plenty  of  meat 
scraps  and  green  food.  They  were  kept  in  what  was  prac- 
tically a  glass  house,  receiving  the  benefit  of  the  sun  during 
the  day,  and  were  protected  from  the  winds.  The  effect 
was  to  bring  as  near  as  possible  the  condition  of  the  warm 
months;  these  paid  very  well. 

Ducks  are  less  frequently  raised  than  chickens  and  often 
realize  good  returns. 

The  popular  fallacy  that  ducks  require  a  stream  or  pond 
is  gradually  passing  away.  There  was  a  time  when  nearly 
all  ducks  were  raised  in  this  way,  feeding  on  fish  as  the  prin- 
cipal diet,  but  experience  has  proved  that  ducks  raised  with- 
out a  stream  or  pond  tend  to  put  on  flesh  instead  of  feathers, 
and  they  have  not  the  oily,  fishy  flavor  of  those  raised  on 
the  water.  Nearly  all  of  the  successful  duck  raisers  now 
use  this  method. 

This  is  bringing  the  duck  more  into  prominence  as  an 
article  of  food;  as  James  Rankin  says  in  "Duck  Culture," 
"People  do  not  care  to  eat  fish  and  flesh  combined.  They 
would  rather  eat  them  separate." 

The  white  pekins  are  the  popular  birds,  because  they  are 
larger,  have  white  meat,  and  are  splendid  layers.  They 
lay  from  100  to  165  eggs  in  a  season  and  are  the  easiest  to 
raise.  They  can  do  entirely  without  water;  and  Rankin 
tells  of  selling  a  flock  to  a  wealthy  man,  who  afterwards 
wrote  asking  him  to  take  them  back,  because  he  had  bought 
them  for  an  artificial  lake  in  front  of  his  house,  so  that  his 
wife  and  children  could  watch  them  disporting  in  the  water. 
He  complained  that  they  would  not  go  into  the  water  unless 


OTHER  USES  Oi^LAND  115 

he  drove  them  in  and  would  remain  only  so  long  as  he  stood 
over  them. 

Ducks  are  easier  to  raise  than  any  other  fowl  and  are 
freer  from  disease.  They  are  ready  for  market  when  eight 
weeks  old. 

The  industry  is  assuming  large  proportions,  and  ranches 
are  now  raising  ducks  by  the  tens  of  thousands  and  are 
finding  better  markets  each  year. 

In  starting  any  poultry  business,  it  is  better  to  begin 
with  twenty-five  fowls  and  master  details  with  those,  then 
double  the  number  as  fast  as  they  have  been  made  to  return 
profits. 

The  Atlantic  Squab  Company,  of  Hammonton,  N.  J., 
says  "  it  is  a  simple  matter  for  the  beginner  to  figure  out  on 
paper  net  profits  of  four  or  five  dollars  per  year  from  each 
pair  of  breeders,  but  we  doubt  if  it  can  be  made.  It  is, 
however,  'pigeon  nature'  to  lay  ten  or  eleven  times  a  year, 
but  hardly  natural  to  presume  that  each  and  every  egg  will 
ultimately  mean  a  Jumbo  squab  in  the  commission  man's 
hands. 

"A  loft  [that  is,  a  pair]  of  high-class  Homers,  properly 
mated,  should  average  six  pair  of  squabs  per  year.  For 
one  year  our  squabs  averaged  us  a  fraction  over  60c.  per 
pair ;  say  $3.60  has  been  the  returns  from  each  pair  of  breed- 
ers. It  has  cost  us  90c.  per  pair  to  feed  for  twelve  months ; 
remember,  we  buy  in  large  quantities;  it  would  cost  the 
small  breeder  $1  a  year  per  pair  to  feed.  It  would  be  well 
to  allow  60c.  a  pair  for  labor  and  supplies,  such  as  grit, 
charcoal,  tobacco  stems,  etc.,  although  the  bird  manure, 
which  we  find  ready  sale  for  at  55c.  per  bushel,  has  covered 
these  incidental  expenses  for  us.  The  inexperienced  begin- 
ner, with  good  management  and  close  attention  to  details, 


116  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

should  clear  $2  a  year  from  each  pair  of  birds,  provided  he 
starts  with  well-mated  pure  Homer  stock."  Pigeons  are 
particular  about  their  mates,  and  will  rather  go  single  than 
take  a  disagreeable  partner. 

Raising  Belgian  hares  at  one  time  promised  to  be  a  most 
profitable  industry.  The  Belgian  hare  is  a  distant  relation 
of  the  ordinary  rabbit.  Its  flesh  is  white,  close-grained, 
and  tender,  resembling  the  legs  of  the  frog,  and  has  a  very 
savory  flavor.  It  is  considered  by  many  superior  to  poultry, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  they  breed  gave  promise  of 
fortunes.  The  doe  brings  forth  a  litter  of  about  eleven 
every  sixty  days,  and  with  prices  ranging  from  $1.50  to  $2.50, 
as  they  were  about  the  year  1900,  with  the  cost  of  raising 
from  thirty  to  forty  cents,  the  reason  for  this  promise  is 
evident.  In  Southern  California  thousands  turned  their 
attention  to  it,  and  some  firms  entered  the  business  with 
equipment  to  the  value  of  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Besides  the  ordinary  market  prices  realized  for  the  hares, 
some  went  extensively  into  breeding  fancy  stock,  and  real- 
ized from  $50  to  $250  apiece  for  them. 

This  industry  had  indications  of  becoming  extensive 
and  enduring,  but  by  1900  so  many  went  into  the  business 
that  the  markets  became  glutted  and  prices  fell  with  dis- 
astrous effect. 

Whether  it  will  pay  you  depends  largely  on  the  attitude 
of  your  customers  toward  the  hare  as  a  food  product. 

Bee-keeping  offers  an  interesting  and  remunerative  field 
of  employment.  More  than  the  average  living  awaits  those 
only  who  will  make  a  careful  and  intelligent  study  of  bees 
and  their  habits  and  will  give  them  the  proper  care  and 
attention. 

One  need  not  be  a  practical  bee-keeper  to  enter  this  field. 


OTHER  USES  OF  LAND  117 

He  can  purchase  even  one  hive  and,  while  increasing  from 
this,  he  can  gain  an  experience  that  he  could  get  in  no  other 
way. 

How  shall  one  start  bee-keeping? 

Get  one  hive  or  a  few  hives.  If  you  have  no  room  in  the 
yard,  put  them  upon  the  roof.  One  man  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  makes  his  living  from  bees  kept  on  the  roof  of  his 
house. 

Wm.  A.  Selzer,  a  large  dealer  in  bee-keepers'  supplies,  in 
Philadelphia,  established  many  colonies  on  the  roof  of  his 
place  right  in  the  heart  of  the  business  district,  where  it  would 
seem  impossible  for  bees  to  find  a  living. 

Very  little  space  is  required  for  bee-keeping;  hives  can 
be  set  two  feet  apart  in  rows,  and  the  rows  six  to  ten  feet 
apart.  No  pasture  need  be  provided  for  them.  There 
are  always  fields  of  flowers  to  supply  the  nectar. 

White  clover  produces  a  large  yield  of  nectar  of  very  fine 
flavor.  The  basswood  or  linden  tree  blossom  produces  a 
fine  nectar  which  some  consider  better  than  white  clover. 
Buckwheat  also  gives  a  good  yield  of  nectar,  but  it  is  dark 
in  color  and  brings  a  lower  price  for  that  reason.  There  are 
other  plants  which  yield  large  quantities  of  nectar,  and  it 
would  be  necessary  to  know  the  locality  to  say  what  would 
be  the  best  plants;  but  as  white  clover  is  found  almost 
everywhere  in  the  northern  states,  it  is  safe  to  say  this  will 
be  the  best  producer  in  the  spring,  and  goldenrod,  where 
found,  the  best  for  the  fall  supply. 

Frank  Benton,  in  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture Bulletin  59,  says :  "It  may  be  safely  said  that  any 
place  where  farming,  gardening,  or  fruit  raising  can  be  suc- 
cessfully followed  is  adapted  to  the  profitable  keeping  of 
bees." 


118  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

There  is  always  a  farmer  here  and  there  who  keeps  a  few 
hives  of  bees.  These  often  can  be  purchased  at  a  very 
reasonable  price,  but  unless  they  are  Italian  bees  and  are 
in  improved  hives,  it  would  be  better  to  purchase  from  some 
dealer.  He  may  sell  you  a  very  weak  colony,  but  after  the 
first  year  these  ought  to  be  as  strong  as  any.  Start  in  the 
spring;  when  you  have  your  bees,  read  good  literature  on 
the  subject.  A.  I.  Root's  "A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture"  is  good 
for  beginners;  subscribe  for  the  American  Bee  Journal,  of 
Chicago,  or  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Medina,  Ohio.  They 
are  full  of  the  latest  ideas  on  the  subject. 

A  yield  of  fifty  pounds  of  honey  in  a  season  can  be  ob- 
tained from  one  hive  of  bees  in  almost  any  locality.  In 
fact,  this  is  often  done  where  bees  are  kept  in  built  up  cities. 
One  hundred  pounds  would  be  considered  a  very  small 
yield  by  many  apiarists,  and  twice  this  amount  is  often 
gathered  in  favored  localities  where  up-to-date  methods  are 
followed. 

One  man  can  take  care  of  two  hundred  hives  or  colonies, 
as  they  are  termed,  if  he  is  w.orking  for  comb  honey,  and 
perhaps  twice  that  number  if  for  extracted  honey. 

Comb  honey  is  stored  usually  hi  one-pound  boxes  set  in 
a  super  or  small  box  over  the  main  hive  body,  which  is  itself 
a  box  about  seventeen  inches  long,  eleven  inches  wide,  and 
ten  inches  deep  into  which  frames  of  comb  are  slid  side  by 
side.  These  combs  are  accessible  and  can  be  lifted  out, 
exposing  to  view  the  inner  workings  of  the  hive.  It  is  in 
these  combs  that  the  queen  lays  as  many  as  three  thousand 
eggs  some  days,  and  in  which  the  young  bees  are  hatched. 
They  are  also  used  for  storing  honey  for  winter  use. 

The  extractor  has  been  invented  to  remove  this  honey 
without  damaging  the  comb.  The  economy  of  this  can 


OTHER  USES  OF  LAND  119 

readily  be  seen,  as  ten  pounds  of  honey  can  be  stored  while 
one  pound  of  comb  is  being  built.  '. 

This  leaves  the  bees  free  to  gather  honey  instead  of  using 
a  portion  of  their  force  to  build  comb,  as  is  necessary  when 
comb  honey  is  desired. 

The  extractor  is  a  round  tin  can  on  a  central  pivot  with  a 
revolving  mechanism.  Into  this  the  full  combs  of  honey 
are  placed  and  are  whirled  around,  throwing  the  honey  out 
into  the  can  by  centrifugal  force.  It  is  then  run  out  at  the 
bottom  into  bottles  or  barrels,  and  the  empty  combs  are 
replaced  in  the  hive  for  the  bees  to  fill  again. 

Twice  as  many  pounds  of  honey  can  be  produced  by  this 
method ;  but  the  price  of  extracted  honey  is  much  less  than 
that  of  comb  honey.  Adulteration  of  extracted  honey  with 
glucose  is  becoming  so  prevalent  that  it  threatens  to  ruin 
this  branch  of  the  industry.  But  there  will  always  be  a 
good  market  for  honey  sold  direct  by  the  producer  to  resi- 
dents, or  even  through  storekeepers,  in  medium  size  towns, 
where  customers  can  be  sure  that  the  honey  is  pure. 

The  average  wholesale  prices  of  honey  are  about  fifteen 
cents  a  pound  for  extracted  and  twenty  cents  for  fancy  comb, 
so  if  the  apiarist  with  two  hundred  hives  produces  the  small 
average  of  fifty  pounds  of  comb  honey  and  sells  it  at  fifteen 
cents  a  pound,  he  will  receive  $1500  for  his  season's  work. 
If  he  goes  in  for  extracted  honey  and  produces  one  hundred 
pounds  per  hive,  he  will  receive  even  more.  Of  course, 
expenses  will  have  to  come  out  of  this. 

That  this  has  been  done  over  and  over  again  is  proved 
by  men  who  started  in  with  only  a  few  hives  and  have  ac- 
cumulated considerable  property  from  the  business. 

But  no  one  need  expect  to  do  this  unless  he  is  willing  to 
give  the  bees  the  attention  which  they  will  require.  To 


120  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

neglect  them  once  means  often  a  total  loss.  Most  of  the 
work  will  have  to  be  done  during  the  swarming  season  in 
May,  June,  and  July.  There  has  been  so  much  written  on 
the  subject  and  so  many  inventions  and  improvements  made 
in  the  hives  that  bee-keeping  more  than  any  other  branch 
of  similar  employment  has  been  reduced  to  a  science,  and 
any  one  can  thoroughly  master  it  in  two  or  three  years.  It 
is  because  its  possibilities  are  not  generally  recognized  that 
so  few  are  now  engaged  in  it. 

The  fear  of  stings  will  always  deter  many  from  entering 
this  business  and  so  check  competition  from  forcing  prices 
down. 

The  price  of  honey  makes  it  a  luxury,  and  there  will  be 
an  unlimited  opportunity  in  the  crop  as  long  as  the  price 
does  not  get  near  the  cost  of  producing,  which  is  far  below 
the  present  prices. 

To  use  land  directly  is  to  open  almost  infinite  opportuni- 
ties. Department  of  Agriculture,  Farmers'  Bulletin  204, 
says:  "In  the  United  States  the  term  'mushroom'  refers 
commercially  to  but  a  single  species  (Agaricus  Campestris) 
of  the  fleshly  fungi,  a  plant  common  throughout  most  of  the 
temperate  regions  of  the  world,  and  one  everywhere  recog- 
nized as  edible." 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  commercial  use  of  the  term 
"mushroom"  restricts  it  to  a  single  species.  There  are 
about  twenty-five  common  varieties  of  edible  fungi  hi  the 
Northern  states. 

The  successful  cultivation  of  mushrooms  in  America  has 
not  been  so  general  as  in  most  European  countries.  It  is 
in  France  and  in  England  that  the  mushroom  industry  has 
been  best  developed.  France  is  the  home  of  the  industry. 
Unusual  interest  has  been  shown  in  the  United  States  in 


OTHER  USES  OF  LAND  121 

the  growth  of  mushrooms  within  the  past  few  years,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  and  expected  that  within  the  next  ten  years 
the  industry  will  develop  to  the  fullest  limit  of  the  market 
demands.  The  demand  will,  of  course,  be  stimulated  by  the 
increasing  popular  appreciation  of  this  product.  In  some 
cities  and  towns  there  is  already  a  good  market  for  mush- 
rooms, while  in  others  they  may  be  sold  directly  to  special 
customers.  This  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  prospective 
growers. 

While  many  American  growers  have  been  successful,  a 
much  larger  number  have  failed.  In  most  cases  their  fail- 
ures have  been  due  to  one  or  more  of  the  following  causes : 

(1)  Poor  spawn,  or  spawn  which  has  been  killed  by  im- 
proper storage. 

(2)  Spawning  at  a  temperature  injuriously  high. 

(3)  Too  much  water  either  at  the  tune  of  spawning  or 
later. 

(4)  Unfavorable  temperature  during  the  growing  period. 
It  is  therefore  important  to  the  prospective  grower  that 
careful  attention  be  given  to  the  general  discussion  of  con- 
ditions which  follow. 

Mushrooms  may  be  grown  in  any  place  where  the  con- 
ditions of  temperature  and  moisture  are  favorable.  A  shed, 
cellar,  cave,  or  vacant  space  in  a  greenhouse  may  be  utilized 
to  advantage  for  this  purpose.  The  most  essential  factor, 
perhaps,  is  that  of  temperature.  The  proper  temperature 
ranges  from  53°  to  60°  R,  with  the  best  from  55°  to  58°  F. 
It  is  unsafe  to  attempt  to  grow  mushrooms  on  a  commercial 
basis,  according  to  our  present  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
in  a  temperature  much  less  than  50°  or  greater  than  63°  F. 
Any  severe  changes  of  temperature  would  entirely  destroy 
the  profits  of  the  mushroom  crop.  From  this  it  is  evident 


122  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

that  in  many  places  mushrooms  may  not  be  grown  as  a  sum- 
mer crop.  With  artificial  heat  they  may  be  grown  almost 
anywhere  throughout  the  winter.  Moreover,  it  is  very 
probable  that  in  this  country  open-air  culture  must  be  lim- 
ited to  a  few  sections. 

A  second  important  factor  is  moisture.  The  place  should 
L»<  c  be  very  damp,  or  constantly  dripping  with  water.  Under 
sucn  conditions  successful  commercial  work  is  not  possible. 
A  place  where  it  is  possible  to  maintain  a  fairly  moist  condi- 
tion of  the  atmosphere,  and  having  such  capability  for  ven- 
tilation as  will  cause  at  least  a  gradual  evaporation,  is  neces- 
sary. With  too  rapid  ventilation  and  the  consequent  neces- 
sity of  repeated  applications  of  water  to  the  mushroom  bed, 
no  mushroom  crop  will  attain  the  highest  perfection. 

Even  a  little  iron  rust  in  the  soil  is  reported  as  fatal  to 
the  Campestris,  the  only  fungus  so  far  successfully  propa- 
gated. 

If  other  fungi  than  the  Campestris  come  up  wild,  don't 
throw  them  away  as  worthless.  Many  are  better  eating 
than  the  one  you  seek,  and  you  can  avoid  the  risk  of  poison- 
ous ones  by  learning  to  recognize  the  dangerous  family  — 
send  for  the  Agricultural  Department's  Bulletin  No.  204. 
Meanwhile,  (1)  all  mushrooms  with  pink  gills,  (2)  all  coral- 
like  fungi,  (3)  all  that  grow  on  wood,  and  (4)  all  puffballs, 
are  good  to  eat  if  they  are  young  and  tender  —  only  don't 
mistake  an  unspread  Aminita  for  a  puffball. 

An  ingenious  person  may  find  other  sources  of  income  in 
the  country.  A  young  hotel  porter  in  Ulster  County,  New 
York,  bought  seventy  acres  of  mountain  woodland  four 
miles  from  the  railroad  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
and  puts  in  his  winters  cutting  barrel  hoops,  at  which  he 
makes  two  dollars  a  day.  Meanwhile  the  land  is  maturing 


OTHER  USES  OF  LAND  123 

timber.  That  is  hard  work,  but  to  gather  wild  mushrooms 
or  to  cut  willows,  or  sweet  pine  needles  to  make  cushions, 
or  to  catch  young  squirrels  for  sale,  is  lighter,  if  less  steady 
employment. 

And  with  all  our  uses  of  land,  we  must  not  forget  a  little 
corner  for  the  hammock  and  the  croquet  hoops  for  the  wife 
and  the  children.  In  the  Province  of  Quebec,  where  the  land 
is  held  in  great  tracts  under  the  Seigniors,  I  have  seen  croquet 
grounds  no  bigger  than  a  bed  quilt  in  front  of  the  little  one- 
room  cottages. 

The  Frenchman  knows  the  importance  of  such  things  as 
that,  has  meals  out  of  doors  in  fine  weather,  goes  on  little 
picnics,  and  keeps  madame  contented  in  the  country. 

A  swing,  or  a  seesaw,  and  a  tether  ball  (a  ball  swinging 
from  the  top  of  a  pole  eight  feet  high)  for  the  children  will 
help  to  keep  the  family  peace. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FEUITS 

FRUIT  raising  can  succeed  in  either  of  two  ways.  Either 
planting  the  orchard  in  some  one  fruit  and  specializing 
thereon,  or  diversifying  the  operation  to  cover  many  va- 
rieties. In  the  first  way  it  is  usual  to  establish  orchards  in 
favorable  localities  without  special  regard  to  nearness  to 
market ;  because  in  these  days  of  refrigerator  car  lines  the 
product  of  an  orchard  in  any  part  of  the  country  can  be 
sent  to  market  quickly  enough  to  avoid  loss.  Where  many 
varieties  are  grown,  the  best  site  is  usually  near  a  large  city 
where  the  grower  can  market  his  own  product  on  wagons 
and  get  the  benefit  of  retail  prices. 

Remember  that  it  is  far  more  profitable  to  raise  twenty 
baskets  of  fine,  well-shaped,  clean,  handsome  apples  or 
peaches  or  any  other  hand-eaten  fruit,  than  to  raise  a  hun- 
dred barrels  of  stuff  that  is  good  only  for  the  common 
drier  or  for  the  mill  or  hogpen. 

Care  and  common  sense  are  the  jackscrews  to  use  in 
raising  fine  fruit. 

The  apple  is  the  great  American  fruit  for  extensive  orchard- 
ing. The  question  is  whether  there  is  a  profit  in  apple 
growing.  The  answer  is,  where  the  conditions  are  favor- 
able and  when  the  business  is  well  conducted  there  is. 
Under  average  conditions,  with  poor  business  manage- 
ment, there  is  little  or  none. 

124 


FRUITS  125 

As  Professor  S.  T.  Maynard  in  Suburban  Life  tells  us, 
"In  a  suburban  garden  of  one  of  our  Eastern  cities  are 
seven  Astrachan  trees,  about  twenty  years  old,  from  which 
have  been  sold  in  a  single  season  over  one  hundred  dollars' 
worth  of  fruit.  A  friend  near  Boston  put  three  thousand 
barrels  of  picked  Baldwins  into  cold  storage.  None  of  the 
fancy  apples  sold  for  less  than  three  dollars  a  barrel,  and  the 
others  netted  more  than  two  dollars.  They  were  the  prod- 
uct of  less  than  forty  acres  of  trees  which  had  been  planted 
about  twenty-five  years.  Another  fruit  grower  showed  me 
several  returns  of  commission  men  of  five,  six,  and  even 
seven  dollars  a  barrel  for  fancy  Baldwins.  At  such  prices, 
and  under  such  conditions,  there  is  a  large  profit  in  apple 
growing." 

"The  other  side  of  the  picture,  however,  is  the  more 
common  one.  A  friend  sent  fifty  barrels  of  fancy  Bald- 
wins to  a  commission  house,  to  be  shipped  to  European 
markets,  the  returns  for  which  were  just  enough  to  pay  for 
the  barrels.  The  majority  of  apples  grown  in  the  United 
States  are  sold  to  buyers,  one  buyer  in  each  section,  for  a 
dollar  to  two  dollars  for  No.  1  quality,  and  a  dollar  for  No.  2. 
With  the  cost  of  barrels  at  about  forty  cents,  labor  for  pick- 
ing, sorting,  and  packing,  these  prices  leave  little  or  nothing 
for  the  use  of  the  land,  cost  of  fertilizers,  spraying,  thinning, 
etc.,  all  of  which  are  necessary  for  growing  fruit  of  the  best 
quality." 

Holmes  further  says,  in  substance,  that  we  must  make 
the  trees  grow  vigorously,  whether  upon  poor  or  good  soil. 
Growth  is  the  first  requirement.  To  do  this,  we  need  a 
strong,  deep,  moist  soil,  —  good  grass  land  well  under- 
drained  makes  the  best.  If  this  is  on  an  elevation  with  a 
northern  or  western  exposure,  it  will  be  better  than  a  south- 


126  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

ern  or  an  eastern  one.  While  apple  trees  will  grow  on  a 
thin  soil,  so  much  care  and  fertilizing  is  required  that  the 
crop  will  be  of  little  or  no  profit  upon  such  land.  Lastly, 
we  must  protect  our  fruit  from  insect  and  fungous  pests. 

On  land  that  is  free  from  stones  and  not  too  steep,  thor- 
ough and  frequent  cultivation  will  give  the  quickest  and 
largest  returns.  On  such  land  hoed  garden  or  farm  crops 
may  be  profitable  while  the  trees  are  small,  but  after  five  or 
six  years  it  will  generally  be  found  best  to  cultivate  it  en- 
tirely for  the  growth  of  trees.  Organic  matter  in  the  form 
of  stable  manure  or  cover  crops  will  be  needed,  and  must 
be  applied  in  the  fall  or  very  early  in  the  spring  to  keep  up 
the  supply  of  humus  in  the  soil. 

Stony  land  that  cannot  be  plowed  or  cultivated  except 
at  a  great  cost  may  be  made  to  grow  good  crops  of  fruit. 
While  the  trees  are  young,  the  soil  should  be  worked  about 
them  for  the  space  of  a  few  feet  and  then  the  moisture  re- 
tained by  a  mulch  system,  making  use  of  any  waste  organic 
matter  like  straw,  leaves,  meadow  hay,  brush,  and  weeds 
cut  before  they  seed.  Most  of  the  first  prize  apples  at  the 
Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo  were  grown  under  the 
"turf-culture"  system. 

Unless  you  have  trees  already  on  your  land,  it  is  too  long 
to  wait  six  or  seven  years  for  a  crop.  We  can  graft  good 
fruit  on  almost  any  tree,  though  the  new  dwarf  trees  will 
bear  much  sooner,  and  if  we  have  trees  we  need  not  even 
wait  for  the  harvest  of  our  crop,  since  the  windfalls  will 
keep  us  in  apple  sauce,  jellies,  and  pies,  for  no  apple  is  too 
green  for  apple  sauce,  not  even  the  ones  that  the  boys  can't 
bite. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  profitable  growth  of  the 
apple  is  the  market.  Much  of  the  profit  in  apple  growing, 


FRUITS  127 

whether  in  the  East  or  the  West,  will  depend  upon  the 
extent  of  the  business  done,  especially  if  one  is  a  consider- 
able distance  from  markets.  The  above  are  the  essentials 
noted  by  this  practical  scientist. 

Next  to  the  apple  crop,  perhaps  the  most  important  fruit 
crop  for  shipping  is  the  peach.  The  locality  is  perhaps  the 
most  important  consideration  in  a  peach  orchard.  In  the 
Eastern  and  Southern  states,  and  in  Connecticut,  Delaware, 
New  Jersey,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and,  of  late  years, 
Georgia,  peaches  flourish  and  produce  enormous  crops. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  nearer  the  orchard  is  to  large  bodies 
of  water,  the  more  likely  one  is  to  get  a  crop,  as  the  temper- 
ature of  the  water  prevents  a  too  early  budding  out  in  the 
spring  and  delays  killing  autumn  frosts. 

Generally  speaking,  a  sandy,  porous  soil  is  best  for  peaches, 
but  they  may  be  raised  on  clay  lands  if  provided  with  plenty 
of  humus. 

Another  fruit  which  is  profitable  in  districts  suited  to 
its  growth  is  the  grape.  Bulletin  No.  153,  Cornell  Exper- 
iment Station,  says:  "Grapes  are  a  dessert  fruit.  They 
are  not  used  to  a  large  extent  in  the  kitchen  (though  they 
might  be),  so  there  are  few  incidental  or  secondary  prod- 
ucts ;  that  is,  they  are  not  dried,  canned,  made  into  jellies, 
and  the  like,  to  any  extent,  that  is,  in  the  United  States." 
The  grape  is  peculiarly  a  sectional  product.  Central  New 
York  has  a  large  area  devoted  to  it.  In  northern  Ohio,  a 
strip  along  Lake  Erie,  and  some  of  its  islands,  are  devoted 
almost  exclusively  to  grape  vineyards.  In  districts  where 
grapes  are  intensively  grown,  a  great  part  of  the  crop  is 
used  for  wine,  and  American  wine  is  extensively  sold  in  our 
home  markets,  although  it  frequently  has  foreign  labels. 

Any  one  purchasing  a  farm  should  plant  some  grapevines 


128  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

for  home  use.  Grape  juice  is  easily  made  and  kept  and  is 
a  pleasing  beverage.  Grape  jelly  is  excellent  and  could  be 
readily  marketed  in  any  nearby  town,  since  there  is  very 
little,  comparatively,  on  sale.  A  grape  arbor  gives  shade, 
needs  little  care,  and  can  be  planted  near  the  house  where 
it  will  not  interfere  with  the  crops.  For  you  cannot  cul- 
tivate all  of  your  land;  some  grassy  space  must  be  left 
around  the  house  if  only  for  drying  clothes.  But  if  ground 
is  scarce,  vines  or  lima  beans  can  be  trained  up  the  back 
porch  or  up  the  sunny  side  of  the  house ;  or  a  few  climbing 
nasturtiums  will  give  decorations  without  care,  while  the 
young  leaves  make  a  good  salad. 

Of  home  orchard  fruits,  the  plum,  pear,  and  quince  are 
all  profitable  specialties,  especially  for  intensive  acre  rais- 
ing. In  general,  the  same  remark  may  be  made  of  them  as 
of  the  other  fruits,  that  they  need  careful  selection  of  land 
to  get  the  best  results.  The  cherry  has  recently  come  to 
be  recognized  as  a  good  commercial  specialty.  Mr.  George 
T.  Powell,  in  The  American  Agriculturist,  says :  "  The  crop 
is  a  precarious  one  to  market.  .  .  .  The  risk  and  loss  may 
be  largely  reduced  by  making  a  proper  selection  of  site  for 
the  orchard.  This  should  be  on  high  ground  where  the  air 
generally  circulates  freely.  This  is  especially  necessary  for 
sweet  varieties.  The  soil  should  be  rich,  with  naturally 
good  drainage." 

He  says :  "  I  have  had  Rockport  trees  produce  four  hun- 
dred pounds  each  and  the  fruit  net  ten  cents  a  pound  for 
the  entire  crop.  The  English  Morello  trees  may  be  grown 
fifteen  feet  apart  each  way,  which  will  allow  two  hundred 
trees  to  the  acre.  The  larger  trees  ought  to  be  planted 
somewhat  thinner.  .  .  .  Cherries  are  packed  largely  in 
eight-pound  baskets  and  in  strawberry  quarts.  Each  bas- 


FRUITS  129 

ket  is  filled  with  carefully  assorted  fruit,  every  imperfect 
specimen  being  taken  out,  after  which  they  are  faced  by 
placing  the  stems  downward  so  that  the  cherry  shows  in 
regular  rows  upon  the  face.  Girls  and  women  do  this  work. 
The  Eastern  fruit  grower  must  bear  in  mind  that  he  has  to 
meet  hi  his  market  the  competition  of  the  Pacific  coast 
growers,  who  excel  in  fine  packing;  and  although  our 
Eastern  grown  cherries  are  of  a  finer  flavor,  they  are  sent 
to  the  market  in  such  a  crude  manner  and  in  such  unat- 
tractive condition  that  they  sell  for  much  less  than  the  Cali- 
fornia fruit." 

Regarding  bush  berries,  he  says,  you  will  get  a  small  crop 
the  second  year  after  planting  and  for  the  third  and  subse- 
quent years  a  full  crop.  The  important  thing  is  to  keep  the 
dead  canes  well  pruned  out,  as  the  cane  borer  is  one  of  the 
worst  insect  pests.  When  they  appear  they  can  be  stopped 
by  cutting  off  the  shoot  several  inches  below  the  puncture 
as  soon  as  it  begins  to  droop,  and  burning  the  part  cut  off. 
Again,  Mr.  Powell  says,  "Currants  require  rich  soil.  A  clay 
or  heavy  loam  is  better  than  a  heavy  dry  soil.  They  should 
be  planted  in  the  fall.  The  average  from  ten  thousand 
bushes  should  be  about  four  quarts  each.  The  cherry  currant 
is  perhaps  the  largest  in  size,  but  not  so  prolific  as  some 
others.  Currants  are  shipped  and  sold  in  thirty-two  quart 
crates  and  have  to  be  carefully  packed  to  get  to  market  in 
good  condition." 

Gooseberries  are  raised  by  the  acre.  Mr.  A.  M.  Brown, 
Kent  County,  Delaware,  in  The  American  Agriculturist, 
tells  of  a  plantation  in  Central  Delaware  where  over  twenty- 
four  thousand  pounds  were  gathered  from  a  scant  four  acres. 
The  product  was  sold  to  the  Baltimore  canners  for  six  cents 
a  pound,  making  $1440  in  all.  In  addition  to  the  goose- 


130  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

berries  grown  on  six  acres,  a  large  crop  each  of  apples  and 
pears  were  grown  on  the  same  ground.  Like  currants,  the 
gooseberry  must  be  sprayed  to  destroy  the  worms,  and  cut 
back  and  burnt  to  destroy  the  cane  borer. 

There  is  little  special  knowledge  required,  however,  in 
raising  this  fruit,  and  it  is  well  adapted  for  growers  with 
small  acreage  and  little  money. 

In  going  into  the  cultivation  of  bush  fruits,  it  is  usually 
best  to  grow  them  in  great  variety  near  the  market  where 
they  are  to  be  sold.  The  bush  fruits  are  then  uniformly 
profitable.  In  Suburban  Life  Mr.  E.  C.  Powell  tells  us  that 
the  spring  is  the  best  tune  for  planting  raspberries  and 
blackberries,  just  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  dry  enough  to 
work.  The  first  season  the  plots  should  be  well  tilled.  It 
is  possible  to  grow  vegetables  between  the  rows  the  first 
year  before  the  berries  begin  to  bear,  but  unless  pressed  for 
space,  it  probably  doesn't  pay. 

Perhaps  the  best  of  small  fruits,  however,  and  most 
largely  used  is  the  strawberry.  The  strawberry  can  be 
planted  by  the  acre.  The  ground  must  be  rich  loam  and 
plenty  of  humus,  well  drained,  with  a  southern  exposure. 
Well-grown  plants  set  out  in  the  open  will  bear  a  small 
crop  the  first  season,  but  will  not  become  of  maximum  bear- 
ing till  the  second  year.  After  the  crop  is  taken  off  in  the 
fall  a  mulch  of  straw  or  leaves  should  be  placed  over  the 
plants  to  protect  them  during  the  winter.  The  strawberries 
are  picked  by  boys  and  girls. 

The  strawberry  is  an  exceedingly  profitable  crop  if  prop- 
erly handled,  and  is  one  of  the  best  small  fruits  for  people 
with  little  capital.  While  the  price  in  the  general  market 
varies  from  fifteen  to  thirty  cents  per  quart,  they  sometimes 
run  as  high  as  fifty  in  the  early  spring ;  yet  it  is  possible  to 


FRUITS  131 

grow  strawberries  worth  six  dollars  a  quart  by  intensive 
culture  in  greenhouses.  Mr.  S.  W.  Fletcher,  in  Country 
Life  in  America,  says :  "  The  forcing  of  strawberries  is  a 
specialized  industry  of  the  highest  type.  Everybody  can- 
not make  it  pay  everywhere.  .  .  .  Strawberries  are  forced 
in  pots  or  in  benches.  The  pot  method  is  preferred  by  those 
who  find  a  demand  for  the  highest  quality  of  fruit  regard- 
less of  expense.  ...  If  fruit  is  desired  for  Christmas, 
the  plants  are  not  checked  to  any  extent,  but  are  kept  in 
continuous  growth.  The  conditions  of  springtime  are 
simulated  as  far  as  possible.  At  Christmas  time  a  quart 
box  of  forced  Marshall  strawberries  sells  at  from  one-fifty 
to  eight  dollars  per  quart,  averaging  about  four  dollars." 

Our  most  valuable  allies  against  the  insect  armies  are 
toads,  bats,  wasps,  dragon  flies,  and  birds;  they  enjoy  the 
battle. 

There  cannot  be  too  many  toads  or  bats.  Toads  will 
eat  all  sorts  of  flies,  potato  bugs,  squash  bugs,  rose  bugs, 
caterpillars,  and  almost  anything  that  crawls. 

If  the  wasps  become  a  nuisance,  it  is  easy  to  poison  them ; 
but  the  birds  are  often  a  nuisance  —  the  robins  eat  the 
strawberries  and  cherries  the  instant  they  are  ripe.  They 
soon  get  used  to  scarecrows;  and  to  cover  the  fruit  with 
nets  gives  the  insects  a  free  hand.  Some  growers  raise 
sweet  cherries  or  other  fruits  specially  to  feed  up  the  birds 
so  that  they  will  let  the  rest  alone.  Early  rising  and  a 
plenty  of  cats  is  about  the  best  remedy.  A  man,  or  even  a 
woman,  working  on  the  land  is  the  best  scarecrow. 

There  are  a  few  other  fruits  that  grow  wild  in  certain 
sections  and  are  gathered  and  sent  to  market.  Among 
these  the  cranberry  is  the  most  important.  It  grows  in 
nearly  inaccessible  bogs,  principally  in  New  Jersey,  and  the 


132  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

usual  custom  is  for  owners  of  land  on  which  there  are  cran- 
berry bogs  to  let  out  the  bog  to  pickers  on  a  percentage 
basis.  Cranberries  can  be  cultivated,  and  there  is  a  con- 
siderable profit  in  the  business.  The  swampy  nature  of 
the  ground  needed,  however,  will  deter  all  except  the  most 
persistent  from  this  industry.  Some  cranberry  bogs  bring 
as  high  as  a  thousand  dollars  an  acre. 

The  blueberry  or  huckleberry,  or,  as  we  call  it  in  Ire- 
land, the  bilberry,  or  frohen,  grows  wild  in  the  northerly 
states,  and  is  much  sought  after  in  the  market.  Many 
efforts  have  been  made  to  grow  the  blueberry  commercially ; 
but,  as  is  well  said  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Hale  in  the  Rural  New  Yorker, 
"  The  blueberry  proved  to  be  a  good  deal  like  Indians  —  it 
would  not  stand  civilization,  and  was  never  satisfactory, 
although  I  monkeyed  with  it  for  a  period  of  about  ten 
years."  Mr.  Fred  W.  Card,  of  Rhode  Island,  in  the  same 
issue  reports  a  similar  experience.  With  our  present  knowl- 
edge of  the  blueberry,  it  is  doubtful  if  it  can  be  made  a 
commercially  cultivated  crop.  Lately,  however,  it  is  claimed 
that  it  can  be  grown  in  very  poor,  non-nitrogenous  soil. 

A  variety,  however,  called  the  Garden  Blueberry,  gives 
almost  incredible  yields,  five  bushels  being  reported  from 
sixty  plants.  It  keeps  all  winter  on  the  branches,  if  stored 
in  a  cellar,  and  is  of  fine  flavor  and  especially  good  for  pre- 
serves. A  little  frost  improves  it. 

But  wild  berries,  crab  apples,  and  elderberries  and  others, 
are  good  to  preserve  and  find  a  ready  sale  if  attractively 
put  up;  they  also  help  out  the  table  greatly.  Then  think 
of  the  fun  I 

In  recent  years,  certain  varieties  of  nuts,  like  the  English 
walnut,  the  pecan,  and  the  hickory  nuts  have  been  grown 
commercially.  In  the  South  particularly,  the  pecan  has 


FRUITS  133 

been  found  a  good  crop  to  plant  on  cotton  plantations  which 
have  been  overworked.  In  the  Rural  New  Yorker,  Mr. 
H.  E.  Vandevan  gives  an  account  of  an  old  cotton  planta- 
tion of  2250  acres  lying  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
River  hi  Louisiana.  The  pecan  tree  was  indigenous  to  the 
land,  and  the  wooded  portion  of  the  plantation  has  thou- 
sands of  giant  pecan  trees  growing  on  it.  The  previous 
owners  of  this  plantation  had  done  all  in  their  power  to 
destroy  these  trees,  but  they  flourished  in  spite  of  that. 
Mr.  Vandevan,  however,  saw  in  the  pecan  a  large  profit,  and 
he  has  planted  ten  thousand  trees  on  six  hundred  acres, 
all  in  a  solid  block.  The  trees  are  set  fifty  feet  apart  both 
ways,  except  where  a  roadway  is  left.  Between  the  pecan 
trees  Mr.  Vandevan  has  planted  fig  trees  for  early  returns, 
with  the  intention  of  canning  the  fruit. 

The  English  walnut  is  grown  principally  in  California. 
Its  value  has  been  recognized  only  recently,  as  all  of  the 
nut  crops  take  a  good  many  years  before  the  trees  begin  to 
bear.  Nut  growing  on  a  small  scale  is  not  of  much  value 
to  a  man  with  a  little  bit  of  land,  except  as  an  additional 
source  of  income. 

If  you  find  a  sweet  chestnut  tree  or  a  shell-bark  hickory 
or  two  in  your  wood  lot,  they  will  well  repay  protection  and 
careful  cultivation. 

If  you  don't,  why  —  there  are  great  promises  in  quick 
maturing  nut  trees.  There  is  now  an  English  walnut  which 
is  claimed  to  bear  the  third  or  even  the  second  year  after 
setting  out.  My  own  small  experience  with  these  in  New 
Jersey,  however,  has  not  been  a  success. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

FLOWERS 

EVERY  city  in  the  United  States  affords  an  opportunity 
for  flower  gardening  and  nurseries,  but  a  study  must  be 
made  of  the  market  in  order  to  know  what  is  best  to  raise 
and  where  to  raise  it. 

The  choice  of  crops  depends  on  the  popular  taste.  The 
flowers  which  are  now  in  greatest  demand  are  the  rose, 
carnation,  violet,  and  chrysanthemum. 

Near  every  large  city  there  are  hundreds  of  florists  with 
glass  houses,  some  covering  twenty  acres  or  more.  There 
were  over  2000  acres  of  flower  land  under  glass  reported  at 
the  last  census.  As  almost  all  industries  to-day  are  spe- 
cialized, so  is  floriculture ;  in  one  place  we  see  ten  acres  of 
glass  given  over  to  the  rose,  in  another  thousands  of  dollars 
devoted  to  the  carnation  or  the  violet,  while  one  grower  in 
Queens,  Long  Island,  has  75,000  square  feet  of  glass  for 
carnations. 

The  specialist  who  devotes  his  thoughts  and  energies  to 
raising  one  flower  can  produce  better  results  than  if  he 
raised  a  variety.  He  has  only  one  crop  to  market,  and  can 
do  it  more  successfully  than  with  a  number  of  crops.  If  he 
raises  enough  to  make  himself  a  factor  in  the  market,  he 
can  sell  direct  instead  of  sending  his  product  to  a  commis- 
sion man,  thereby  receiving  better  prices. 

134 


FLOWERS  135 

Little  capital  is  required  to  start;  intelligent  effort  is 
the  road  to  success.  Very  few,  indeed,  who  are  now  leaders 
in  floriculture,  started  with  more  than  $500  capital,  and 
many  with  much  less.  One  of  the  largest  growers  of  roses 
in  the  United  States,  whose  plant  covers  more  than  ten 
acres,  did  not  have  $500  when  he  started,  and  many  others 
not  so  well  known  are  making  handsome  livings  and  have 
accumulated  thousands  of  dollars  of  property  from  a  start 
of  less  than  $500. 

But  practical  knowledge  is  much  more  necessary  than  in 
raising  vegetables,  as  small  mistakes  will  have  more  serious 
results.  Therefore,  if  you  have  some  capital  and  wish  to 
go  into  flower  raising,  it  will  pay  you,  if  circumstances  per- 
mit, to  hire  out  to  a  florist,  even  at  small  wages,  till  you 
have  learned  the  business  —  even  though  you  have  raised 
flowers  successfully  in  a  home  garden. 

Mr.  Frank  Hamilton,  manager  of  C.  W.  Ward's  of 
Queens,  tells  of  at  least  a  dozen  men,  who  have  been  in  their 
employ  during  his  twenty-five  years'  experience,  some  of 
whom  got  only  twenty  dollars  a  month  at  first,  and  after- 
wards started  in  a  small  way  for  themselves,  who  are  now 
making  a  substantial  living. 

Although  the  market  depends  largely  on  the  wealthy 
class  in  the  large  cities,  many  florists  devote  considerable 
time  and  space  to  flowers  which  are  bought  by  the  poorer 
class  of  city  dwellers  who  have  no  space  or  time  to  raise 
their  own. 

There  are  always  good  markets  somewhere  for  the  crop, 
and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  ship  flowers  from  New 
York  to  Chicago,  Buffalo,  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Washington,  or  vice  versa.  The  chances  of  success 
for  a  lover  of  flowers  are  better  in  this  business  than  in  any 


136  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

in  which  one  with  a  like  amount  of  capital  can  engage.  If 
the  business  at  first  is  not  large  enough  to  use  all  his  time, 
he  will  find  no  trouble  in  securing  employment  in  his  imme- 
diate vicinity.  There  are  always  some  who  want  such  a 
person  to  care  for  their  lawns  or  to  give  some  time  to  their 
conservatories. 

In  the  last  ten  years  the  business  has  doubled,  and  while 
many  have  gone  into  it,  the  profit  they  are  making  indicates 
that  supply  has  not  kept  pace  with  demand,  and  that  it  is 
not  likely  to  be  overdone  in  the  near  future. 

Professor  B.  T.  Galloway,  in  an  article  in  The  World's 
Work,  says,  "An  acre  of  soil  under  glass  pays  fifty  times  as 
much  as  an  acre  outdoors.  There  are  annually  sold  in  this 
country  six  to  seven  million  dollars'  worth  of  carnation 
flowers.  There  are  no  less  than  eight  to  ten  million  square 
feet  of  glass  in  the  United  States  devoted  to  this  flower 
alone." 

Although  Mr.  Rockefeller's  place  at  Tarrytown  is  the 
largest  competitor  in  the  New  York  market  for  violets, 
there  is  no  local  monopoly  in  that,  and  the  local  producer 
with  personal  attention  can  do  well. 

In  the  Country  Gentleman  an  account  is  given  of  a  violet 
farm  on  the  north  shore  of  Illinois,  where  two  women  are 
supplying  local  florists.  One  of  them  says :  "We  started  our 
farm  last  spring  in  the  face  of  most  discouraging  prophecies 
from  our  friends  and  the  keenest  competition  of  violet 
growers  of  New  York.  But  we  believed  we  could  be  suc- 
cessful. We  had  studied  the  best  scientific  methods  of 
growing  the  plants,  had  imported  the  best  soil  obtainable, 
and  built  a  greenhouse  fully  adapted  to  our  needs,  so  we 
just  went  ahead  and  we  found  it  to  be  a  paying  proposition. 

"  Our  first  experiment  was  in  using  cuttings  from  the  violet 


FLOWERS  137 

farm  of  a  lady  at  Lansing,  Michigan,  who  has  been  a  most 
successful  grower.  These  did  not  thrive,  and  we  next 
imported  3000  cuttings  from  the  Tarrytown  neighborhood, 
where  violet  culture  has  been  most  successful. 

"The  first  rule  is  to  keep  the  temperature  of  the  green- 
house between  forty-five  and  fifty  degrees.  Violets  are 
spring  flowers,  and  wither  and  droop  if  the  temperature  is 
not  at  the  right  degree.  Most  people  think  the  double 
violets  have  no  fragrance  because  most  of  those  that  we  get 
lose  their  fragrance  in  transit. 

"We  supply  2000  flowers  a  week,  and  as  they  reach  our 
patrons  within  two  or  three  hours  at  the  most  from  the 
time  of  cutting,  they  retain  their  fragrance.  They  are  also 
larger  and  of  a  deeper  color  than  the  New  York  flowers. 
Next  year  we  hope  to  go  in  on  a  much  larger  scale. 

"While  the  work  is  not  hard,  it  requires  infinite  care  and 
vigilance  when  the  little  plants  are  growing.  As  a  career 
for  a  woman,  violet  growing  offers  greater  inducements 
than  anything  I  can  think  of." 

Then,  surely,  others  can  succeed  in  other  flowers  at  other 
places.  While  there  is  little  choice  between  the  standard 
styles  of  greenhouses  for  violets,  there  should  be  abundant 
provision  for  supplying  fresh  air,  either  from  the  sides  or 
top,  whichever  is  chosen.  The  system  of  ventilation  should 
admit  of  operation  either  from  the  inside  or  the  outside  of 
the  house,  as  fumigation  with  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  is  some- 
times necessary,  in  the  fumes  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
enter,  unless  with  a  gas  mask. 

The  arrangement  of  the  house  should  secure  the  greatest 
possible  supply  of  sunshine  in  December  and  January, 
and  the  least  possible  during  the  growing  season,  when, 
as  Miss  Howard  points  out,  it  is  necessary  to  secure  as  low 


138  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

a  temperature  as  possible,  so  as  to  obtain  good,  vigorous, 
healthy-growing  plants.  The  best  site  is  a  level  piece  of 
ground,  or  one  sloping  gently  to  the  south. 

Of  the  diseases  to  which  cultivated  violets  are  subject, 
Mr.  P.  H.  Dorsett,  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  names 
four  as  especially  dangerous :  Spot  disease,  producing  whit- 
ish spots  on  the  foliage;  root  rot,  apt  to  attack  young 
plants  transplanted  in  hot,  dry  weather;  wet  rot,  a  fungus 
apt  to  appear  in  too  moist  air  or  where  ventilation  is  in- 
sufficient; and  yellowing,  of  the  cause  of  which  little  is 
known.  Any  of  these  diseases  is  difficult  to  exterminate 
when  it  once  gains  a  foothold.  The  best  thing  to  do  is  to 
get  strong,  vigorous  cuttings,  and  then  to  give  careful 
attention  to  watering,  cultivation,  and  ventilation,  and  the 
destruction  of  dead  and  dying  leaves  and  all  runners  as  fast 
as  they  appear. 

Among  insect  enemies,  the  aphids,  red  spiders,  eel  worms, 
gall  flies,  and  slugs  may  be  mentioned.  Most  of  these  can 
be  easiest  controlled  by  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  treatment. 

Chrysanthemums,  especially  of  preternatural  size  and 
bizarre  colors,  —  the  college  colors  at  football  games,  for 
instance,  —  are  in  great  demand.  They  are  extremely  deco- 
rative, and  their  remarkable  lasting  quality  insures  their 
permanent  popularity.  I  have  heard  that  the  unexpanded 
bud  can  be  cooked  like  cauliflower  for  the  table ;  but  we  have 
not  learned  to  use  them  in  that  way.  In  Japan  and  China 
the  leaves  of  the  chrysanthemum  are  esteemed  as  a  salad. 
One  attempt  has  been  made  by  English  gardeners  to  intro- 
duce this  use  of  them  into  England,  but  it  was  unsuccessful. 

The  annual  shows  of  chrysanthemums  and  of  roses  indi- 
cate the  importance  of  the  business. 

It  is  not  generally  known,  but  the  poppies  are  coming 


FLOWERS  139 

into  favor  for  cut  flowers  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  do 
not  keep  very  well.  Miss  Edith  Granger  avoids  this  diffi- 
culty, as  she  explains  in  the  Garden  Magazine,  "by  picking 
off  all  blooms  that  have  not  already  lost  their  petals  in  the 
evening,  so  that  in  the  morning  all  the  open  flowers  will  be 
new  ones.  These  are  cut  as  early  as  possible,  even  while 
the  dew  is  still  upon  them,  and  plunged  immediately  into 
deep  water." 

You  need  not  be  discouraged  by  the  low  prices  at  which 
flowers,  especially  violets  and  roses,  are  often  offered  in 
the  streets.  Those  flowers  are  the  discarded  stock  or  de- 
layed shipments  of  the  swell  florists.  You  will  find  that 
those  flowers  are  fading,  or  revived  with  salt,  and  will  not 
keep. 

That  they  are  so  peddled,  shows  that  everybody,  at  hotels, 
dinners,  funerals,  weddings,  hi  the  home,  and  the  young 
men  for  the  young  women,  want  flowers,  the  loveliest  things 
ever  made  without  souls.  We  have  only  to  supply  such  a 
want  to  find  our  place  in  life. 

Fleischman,  of  Fifth  Avenue,  estimates  cut  flowers,  not 
cut  prices,  since  the  war  in  the  New  York  winter  market : — 

Violets,  $1 .00  per  hundred ;  Carnations,  Killarney  Roses, 
Brides  and  Maids,  Richmonds,  $1.00  per  dozen;  American 
Beauty  Roses,  $1.50  to  $5.00  per  dozen;  Valley  Lilies, 
$3.00  per  bunch  of  25;  Chrysanthemums,  choicest,  $2.00 
to  $5.00  per  dozen. 

These  prices  continue  indefinitely.  The  winter  wholesale 
figures  are : 

Violets $  .35  to  $1.00  per  hundred 

Carnations,  common 1.00  to    1.50  per  hundred 

Carnations,  selects 1.50  to    2.00  per  hundred 

Carnations,  fancies 2.00  to    5.00  per  hundred 

Killarney  Roses 1.00  to    6.00  per  hundred 


140 


THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 


Brides  and  Bridesmaids,  Special 
Brides  and  Bridesmaids,  Extra 
Brides  and  Bridesmaids,  No.  1 
Brides  and  Bridesmaids,  No.  2 

Richmond 

Beauties,  Specials        .... 

Beauties,  Fancy 

Beauties,  Extra 

Beauties,  No.  1 

Beauties,  No.  2 

Lily  of  the  Valley        .... 
Chrysanthemums,  Ordinary 
Chrysanthemums,  Fancy     .     . 


$3.00  to  $4.00  per  hundred 

2.00  to    6.00  per  hundred 

1.00  to    1.50  per  hundred 

.25  to      .75  per  hundred 

1.00  to    6.00  per  hundred 

15.00  to  20.00  per  hundred 

10.00  to  20.00  per  hundred 
8.00  to  10.00  per  hundred 
4.00  to  6.00  per  hundred 
2.00  to  3.00  per  hundred 
3.00  and  upward  per  hundred 
6.00  to  10.00  per  hundred 

20.00  and  upward  per  hundred 


As  a  side  line  the  common  flowers  will  bring  good  prices ; 
mignonette,  bachelor  buttons,  cosmos,  and  even  nasturtiums, 
which  you  can't  keep  from  growing  if  you  just  stick  the 
seed  in  the  ground,  or  lilies  of  the  valley,  which  you  can 
hardly  get  rid  of  once  they  start,  never  go  begging,  if  they 
are  fresh. 

A  favorite  flower  with  many  is  the  sweet  pea,  which  can 
be  grown  out  of  doors  in  the  summer  time  where  you  have 
a  good  depth  and  quality  of  soil. 

I  have  seen  May  blossoms  and  autumn  leaves  on  the 
branch  and  even  goldenrod  brought  into  town  and  sold  at 
good  prices. 

Enterprises  often  look  attractive  at  a  distance;  for  in- 
stance, raising  orchids,  especially  as  some  of  the  flowers 
remain  on  the  plants  ready  for  market  for  weeks  and  bring 
high  prices.  But  to  ship  flowers  at  a  profit  they  must  be  in 
quantities,  else  the  expenses  eat  up  the  returns,  and  they 
must  be  shipped  with  considerable  regularity,  else  you  lose 
your  customers.  To  get  such  a  supply  of  orchids  would 
take  a  very  large  capital  and  involve  so  much  labor  that  it 
is  doubtful  if  more  than  good  interest  could  be  realized  on  it. 


FLOWERS  141 

Many  florists  make  money  by  keeping  constantly  on  hand 
ferns,  palms,  and  other  plants  like  rubber  trees,  which  they 
rent  out  for  social  functions,  weddings,  and  other  occasions. 
Most  florists  in  the  larger  cities  have  also  quite  a  thriving 
business  in  tree  planting,  which  is  everywhere  on  the  in- 
crease. A  highly  specialized  department  of  horticulture 
is  that  of  raising  young  trees  and  plants  to  sell  for  improv- 
ing grounds,  planting  orchards,  or  similar  uses.  The  nurs- 
ery business  bears  much  the  same  relation  to  the  commercial 
florist  or  orchardist  as  seed  growing  does  to  the  market 
gardener. 

Certain  communities,  through  favorable  soil  or  climate, 
are  best  adapted  to  the  production  of  nursery  stock.  Conse- 
quently, one  finds  this  industry  most  highly  developed  in 
scattered  localities.  It  is  true  that  people  with  small 
capital  should  not  tackle  a  business  so  technical  as  this. 

The  business  of  bulb  production  is  another  highly  spe- 
cialized department.  In  certain  sections  of  Holland  large 
areas  of  the  rich  lowlands  are  given  over  to  bulbs  of  various 
kinds  of  lilies,  nearly  all  of  which  are  propagated  in  that 
manner.  To  attain  perfection,  at  least  in  the  North,  most 
bulbs  require  deep,  rich,  warm,  and  highly  manured  soils ;  and 
assiduous  attention  at  every  stage.  In  many  plant  spe- 
cialties, the  gardeners  of  Europe  still  far  surpass  our  own, 
because  conditions  there  have  forced  them  to  make  use  of 
every  available  means  to  increase  production.  The  im- 
mense price  that  European  gardeners  have  to  pay  for  land 
has  been  a  most  potent  factor  in  forcing  them  to  seek  out 
and  apply  the  most  ingenious  forcing  methods.  The  time  is 
upon  us  here  in  America  also  when  we  must  find  out  the 
highest  use  of  land  and  apply  it  to  that  use. 

As  the  aesthetic  qualities  of  our  people  become  more 


142  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

highly  developed,  the  business  of  raising  flowers  must  be- 
come of  increasing  importance,  and  will  readily  reward 
any  one  who  goes  into  it  conscientiously.  Flower  growing 
is  peculiarly  adapted  to  women,  since  the  work  is  light. 
There  are  few  disagreeable  features,  unless  it  be  the  han- 
dling of  the  manure  incidental  to  the  best  results. 

Still,  the  enjoyments  of  agriculture  depend  upon  individual 
tastes.  I  have  seen  "lady  gardeners"  picking  strawberries 
with  the  footman  holding  up  an  umbrella  to  screen  them 
from  the  sun. 

Some  women  would  like  that,  some  not. 


CHAPTER  XV 

DRUG  PLANTS 

A  SOURCE  of  profit  from  land  to  which  little  attention  has 
been  given  in  the  United  States  is  collecting  or  raising  plants, 
some  part  of  which  may  be  used  for  medicinal  purposes. 
We  condense  from  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  188,  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  : 

Certain  well-known  weeds  are  sources  of  crude  drugs  at 
present  obtained  wholly  or  in  part  from  abroad.  Roots, 
leaves,  and  flowers  of  several  of  the  species  most  detrimental 
in  the  United  States  are  gathered,  cured,  and  used  in  Europe, 
and  supply  much  of  the  demands  of  foreign  lands.  Some  of 
these  plants  are  in  many  states  subject  to  anti-weed  laws,  and 
farmers  are  required  to  take  measures  toward  their  extermi- 
nation. 

The  prices  paid  for  crude  drugs  from  these  sources  save  in 
war  time  are  not  great  and  would  rarely  tempt  any  one  to 
this  work  as  a  business.  Yet  if  in  ridding  the  farm  of  weeds 
and  thus  raising  the  value  of  the  land  the  farmer  can  at  the 
same  time  make  these  pests  the  source  of  a  small  income  in- 
stead of  a  dead  loss,  something  is  gained. 

One  rather  alluring  fact  contained  in  an  article  by  Dr. 
True,  is  that  a  shortage  has  become  keenly  felt  in  "  Golden 
Seal,"  which  the  early  American  settlers  learned  from  the 
Indians  to  use  as  a  curative  for  sore  and  inflamed  eyes,  as 
well  as  for  sore  mouth.  The  plant  grows  hi  patches  in  high 

143 


144  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

open  woods,  and  was  formerly  found  in  great  abundance  in 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky,  and  West  Virginia,  but  is  now  so 
rare  that  its  price  has  risen  from  thirty-five  cents  wholesale 
in  1898  to  over  seventy-five  cents  a  pound.  Persons  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  have  undertaken  the  produc- 
tion of  Golden  Seal  on  a  commercial  scale.  More  than  six 
hundred  dollars'  worth  can  be  grown  on  an  acre :  so  a  crop 
this  year  would  be  a  fortune.  The  methods  of  raising  it  can 
be  ascertained  upon  application  to  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

Ginseng  is  one  of  the  drug  crops  which  paid  handsome 
returns  a  few  years  ago,  perhaps  because  it  takes  from  five 
to  seven  years  to  grow  from  seeds ;  but  so  many  went  into 
that  line  that  few  men  to-day  make  anything  at  it.  Further- 
more, the  Chinese,  who  use  a  large  part  of  it,  will  buy  only 
the  wild  roots  —  and  they  know  the  difference.  Those  who 
control  the  trade  have  burned  quantities  in  the  effort  to  keep 
up  the  price. 

There  are  some  drug  plants  which  might  be  raised  with 
success  by  those  who  would  specialize  in  one  plant,  but  the 
lesson  we  learn  from  ginseng  should  act  as  a  warning. 

Raising  drugs  is  one  of  those  things  that  seems  to  be  more 
profitable  to  teach  others  to  do  than  to  do  yourself.  A  well- 
known  Professor  said  to  me  :  "  If  I  were  twenty-five  and  knew 
what  I  know  about  drugs  and  the  market  for  them,  I  should 
go  into  the  drug-raising  business.  But  I  should  expect  to 
lose  money  for  some  years.  If  I  were  a  small  clerk,  say,  or 
an  old  man  who  wanted  to  get  out  of  city  life,  and  I  had  $500 
I  really  wanted  to  venture  in  drug  raising,  I  should  divide 
it  in  half  —  half  I  should  put  in  the  bank  and  the  other  half 
I  should  throw  into  the  Hudson  River.  Then  I  should  be 
sure  of  $250  instead  of  being  drawn  on  to  spend  it  all." 


DRUG  PLANTS  145 

"Most  of  the  people  who  have  been  in  the  business,  notably 
the  Shakers,  who  used  to  do  the  most  of  it,  are  gradually 
getting  out  of  it.  The  few  men  who  make  money  raising 
drugs  keep  it  to  themselves." 

In  many  cases  when  weeds  have  been  dug  the  work  of 
handling  and  curing  them  is  not  excessive  and  can  readily 
be  done  by  women  and  children. 

Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  placed  upon  the  importance 
of  carefully  and  thoroughly  drying  all  crude  drugs,  whether 
roots,  herbs,  leaves,  barks,  flowers,  or  seeds,  and  putting 
them  under  cover  at  nightfall.  If  poorly  dried,  they  will 
heat  and  become  moldy  in  shipping,  and  the  collector  will 
find  his  goods  rejected  by  the  dealer  and  have  all  his  trouble 
for  nothing.  Leaves,  herbs,  and  flowers  should  never  be 
washed. 

It  is  important  also  to  collect  in  proper  season  only,  as 
drugs  collected  out  of  season  are  unmarketable  on  account 
of  inferior  medicinal  qualities,  and  there  will  also  be  a  greater 
shrinkage  in  a  root  dug  during  the  growing  season  than  when 
it  is  collected  after  growth  has  ceased. 

The  roots  of  annual  plants  should  be  dug  in  the  autumn 
of  the  first  year  just  before  the  flowering  period,  and  those  of 
biennial  and  perennial  plants  in  the  fall  of  the  second  or 
third  year,  after  the  tops  have  dried. 

After  the  roots  have  been  dug  the  soil  should  be  well 
shaken  from  them,  and  all  foreign  particles,  such  as  dirt,  roots, 
and  parts  of  other  plants,  should  be  removed.  If  the  roots 
cannot  be  sufficiently  cleared  of  soil  by  shaking,  they  should 
be  thoroughly  washed  in  clean  water.  Drugs  must  look 
wholesome  at  least.  It  does  not  pay  to  be  careless  in  this 
matter.  The  soil  increases  the  weight  of  the  roots,  but  the 
purchaser  is  not  willing  to  pay  by  weight  for  dirt,  and  grades 


146  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

the  uncleaned  or  mixed  drugs  accordingly.  It  is  the  bright, 
natural  looking  root,  leaf,  or  plant  that  will  bring  a  good 
price. 

After  washing,  the  roots  should  be  carefully  dried  by  ex- 
posing them  to  light  and  air,  on  racks  or  shelves,  or  on  clean, 
well-ventilated  barn  floors,  or  lofts.  They  should  be  spread 
out  thinly  and  turned  occasionally  from  day  to  day  until 
completely  cured.  When  this  point  is  reached,  in  perhaps 
three  to  six  weeks,  the  roots  will  snap  readily  when  bent. 
If  dried  out  of  doors  they  should  be  placed  under  shelter  at 
night  and  upon  the  approach  of  rain. 

Some  roots  require  slicing  and  removing  fibrous  rootlets. 
In  general,  large  roots  should  be  split  or  sliced  when  green  in 
order  to  facilitate  drying. 

Barks  of  trees  should  be  gathered  in  spring,  when  the  sap 
begins  to  flow,  but  may  also  be  peeled  in  winter.  In  the  case 
of  the  coarser  barks  (as  elm,  hemlock,  poplar,  oak,  pine,  and 
wild  cherry)  the  outer  layer  is  shaved  off  before  the  bark 
is  removed  from  the  tree,  which  process  is  known  as  "  rossing." 
Only  the  inner  bark  of  these  trees  is  used  medicinally.  Barks 
may  also  be  cured  by  exposure  to  sunlight,  but  moisture  must 
be  avoided. 

Leaves  and  herbs  should  be  collected  when  the  plants  are 
in  full  flower.  The  whole  plant  may  be  cut  and  the  leaves 
may  be  stripped  from  it,  rejecting  the  coarse  and  large  stems 
as  much  as  possible,  and  keeping  only  the  flowering  tops  and 
more  tender  stems  and  leaves. 

Both  leaves  and  herbs  should  be  spread  out  in  thin  layers 
on  clean  floors,  racks,  or  shelves,  in  the  shade,  but  where  there 
is  free  circulation  of  air,  and  turned  frequently  until  thor- 
oughly dry.  Moisture  will  darken  them. 

Flowers  are  collected  when  they  first  open  or  immediately 


DRUG  PLANTS  147 

after,  not  when  they  are  beginning  to  fade.  Seeds  should  be 
gathered  just  as  they  are  ripening,  before  the  seed  pods  open, 
and  should  be  winnowed  in  order  to  remove  fragments  of 
stems,  leaves,  and  shriveled  specimens. 

The  collector  should  be  sure  that  the  plant  is  the  right  one. 
Many  plants  closely  resemble  one  another,  and  some  "yarbs," 
contrary  to  the  popular  impression,  are  deadly  poison  — 
nightshade  (belladonna)  and  the  wild  variety  of  parsnips, 
for  instance.  Therefore,  where  any  doubt  exists,  send  a 
specimen  of  the  entire  plant,  including  leaves,  flowers,  and 
fruits,  to  a  drug  dealer  or  to  the  nearest  state  experiment 
station  for  identification. 

Samples  representative  of  the  lot  of  drugs  to  be  sold  should 
be  sent  to  the  nearest  commission  merchant,  or  drug  store, 
for  inspection  and  for  quotation  on  the  amount  of  drug  that 
can  be  furnished,  or  for  information  as  to  where  to  send  the 
article. 

In  writing  to  the  different  dealers  for  information  and 
for  prices,  which  vary  greatly,  it  should  be  stated  how  much 
of  a  particular  drug  can  be  furnished  and  how  soon  this  can 
be  supplied,  and  postage  should  always  be  inclosed  for  reply. 
The  collector  should  bear  in  mind  that  freight  is  an  important 
item,  and  it  is  best,  therefore,  to  address  the  dealers  acces- 
sible to  the  place  of  production.  The  package  containing 
the  sample  should  be  plainly  marked  with  contents  and  the 
name  and  address  of  the  sender.  When  ready  for  shipment 
crude  drugs  may  be  tightly  packed  hi  burlap  or  gunny  sacks, 
or  in  dry,  clean  barrels. 

Burdock  root  brings  from  three  to  eight  cents  per  pound, 
and  seed  five  to  ten  cents.  About  fifty  thousand  pounds  of 
the  root  is  imported  annually,  and  the  best  has  come  from 
Belgium. 


148  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

Of  dock  roots,  about  125,000  pounds  are  imported  annually, 
at  from  two  to  eight  cents. 

The  field  for  the  sale  of  dandelion  root  is  large. 

Of  couch  grass,  the  roots  of  which  cause  much  profanity  in 
this  country,  there  are  some  250,000  pounds  annually  im- 
ported at  from  three  to  seven  cents  per  pound. 

A  common  weed  with  which  there  is  a  considerable  trouble 
is  the  pokeweed,  the  root  of  which  brings  from  two  to  five 
cents  per  pound  and  the  dried  berries  five  cents  per  pound. 

Forty  to  sixty  thousand  pounds  of  foxglove  are  imported 
from  Europe.  Analysis  has  shown  that  the  leaves  of  the 
wild  American  foxglove  are  as  good  as  the  European  article, 
the  price  of  which  per  pound  ranges  from  six  to  eight  cents. 

Of  mullein  flowers  about  five  thousand  pounds  used  to  be 
imported,  chiefly  from  Germany.  The  leaves  are  also  im- 
ported. 

Dried  leaves  and  tops  of  lobelia  bring  from  three  to  eight 
cents  per  pound,  while  the  seed  commands  fifteen  to  twenty 
cents  per  pound. 

Of  tansy  about  thirty-five  thousand  pounds  have  been 
imported  annually  at  a  price  ranging  from  three  to  six  cents. 

The  flowering  tops  and  leaves  of  the  gum  plant  are  used  as 
a  drug.  They  bring  from  five  to  twelve  cents  per  pound. 

Boneset  leaves  and  tops  bring  from  two  to  eight  cents  per 
pound.  Catnip  tops  and  leaves  two  to  eight  cents  per  pound. 

Of  horehound  about  125,000  pounds  are  imported  annually, 
prices  being  three  to  eight  cents  per  pound. 

Blessed  thistle  is  cultivated  in  Germany,  and  it  is  imported 
to  a  limited  extent. 

Yarrow  is  a  weed  common  from  the  New  England  states 
to  Missouri.  It  is  imported  in  small  quantities,  and  brings 
from  two  to  five  cents  per  pound. 


DRUG  PLANTS  149 

Canada  fleabane  brings  from  six  to  eight  cents  per  pound. 

Of  jimsonweed,  leaves  are  imported,  from  100,000  to 
150,000  pounds  annually,  and  10,000  pounds  of  seed.  Leaves 
bring  two  and  one  half  to  eight  cents  per  pound,  and  seeds 
from  three  to  seven  cents  per  pound. 

Of  poison  hemlock,  seeds  are  imported  from  ten  to  twenty 
thousand  pounds  annually.  Price  for  the  seed  is  three  cents 
per  pound,  for  the  leaves  about  four  cents.  The  flowers 
are  also  used. 

The  American  wormseed  has  been  naturalized  from  tropi- 
cal America  to  New  England ;  the  seed  commands  from  six 
to  eight  cents  per  pound ;  the  oil  distilled  from  this  seed  brings 
one  dollar  and  a  half  per  pound. 

Black  mustard,  which  is  a  troublesome  weed  in  almost 
every  state  in  the  Union,  is  nevertheless  imported  in  enor- 
mous quantities,  the  total  imports  of  the  seeds  of  the  black 
and  white  mustard  amounting  annually  to  over  five  million 
pounds,  the  prices  being  from  three  to  six  cents  per  pound. 
All  these  prices  and  quantities  were  before  the  war  and  may 
greatly  change  after  it. 

In  studying  the  wild  drug  plants,  one  may  learn  the  im- 
mense variety  of  field  salads  and  greens.  On  a  visit  to  the 
Spirit  Fruit  Society  at  Ingleside,  Illinois,  one  of  the  girls  took 
me  out  to  gather  wild  vegetables  for  dinner.  We  pulled  up 
about  a  dozen  varieties  out  of  the  corners  of  a  field ;  two  or 
three  of  the  nice  looking  ones  that  I  gathered  the  young  lady 
threw  out,  saying  she  did  not  know  them ;  but  it  seemed  to  me 
that  she  took  almost  anything  that  was  not  too  tough.  The 
following  are  commonly  used  as  salads :  Dandelion,  yellow 
racket,  purslane  (pusley),  watercress,  nasturtium;  and  the 
following  as  greens  for  cooking :  narrow  or  sour  dock,  stinging 
nettle,  pokeweed,  pigweed  or  lamb's  quarters,  black  mustard. 


150  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Young  milkweed  is  better  than  spinach,  and  also  makes  an 
excellent  salad.  Probably  all  the  salad  leaves  could  be 
cooked  to  advantage.  Rhubarb  leaves  and  horseradish  tops 
are  garden  greens  usually  neglected  most  unfairly. 

Osage  Orange  (maclura  aurantiaca)  is  generally  supposed  to 
be  poison,  and  is  described  in  Webster's  dictionary  as  "a  hard 
and  inedible  fruit,"  but  I  have  found  one  kind,  at  least, 
superior  to  quinces. 

Capsicum  or  red  pepper,  licorice  (the  imports  of  which  have 
all  been  in  the  hands  of  one  person),  camphor,  belladonna, 
henbane,  and  stramonium  are  possible  fields  for  culture ;  but 
they  are  all  experiments. 

If  you  are  growing  poppies  for  the  flowers  it  might  be  worth 
while  to  gather  some  opium,  especially  if  the  new  process 
succeeds  in  separating  morphine  directly  from  the  plant. 

Caraway  seeds,  anise,  coreander,  and  sage  are  common 
garden  plants  that  may  be  sold  as  drugs. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

NOVEL  LIVE  STOCK 

OCCASIONALLY  we  hear  stories  of  the  wealth  which  is 
being  made  on  a  frog  farm  here  or  there.  But  as  a  rule 
little  commercial  success  has  attended  attempts  in  this 
direction. 

The  difficulty  lies  in  feeding  them.  A  single  frog  can  be 
fed  by  dangling  a  piece  of  meat  before  it,  but  it  would  be 
impossible  to  feed  thousands  this  way.  There  are  so  many 
enemies  that  few  tadpoles  become  adult  frogs ;  besides,  the 
frog  is  a  cannibal  and  will  eat  not  only  the  larvae  or  eggs, 
but  the  tadpoles  and  young  frogs  as  well. 

Frog  culture  is  successful  in  some  places  where  ponds  are 
large  enough  to  be  partitioned,  separating  the  tadpoles  and 
young  frogs  from  the  old  ones,  and  where  insects  are  abun- 
dant enough  to  supply  food  naturally  for  them.  Near  San 
Francisco  there  are  a  number  of  frog  ranches.  Even  in 
1903,  according  to  Mary  Heard  in  Out  West,  one  ranch  sold 
to  San  Francisco  markets  2600  dozen  frogs'  legs,  netting 
$1800.  This  was  considered  poor.  Frogs'  legs  are  sold  to 
hotels  and  restaurants,  and  bring  in  New  York,  according 
to  size  and  season,  from  fifty  cents  to  a  dollar  a  pound. 

Tons  of  frogs  come  to  New  York  markets  each  year  from 
Canada,  Michigan,  and  from  the  South  and  West.  Few 
people  outside  of  the  cities  eat  them.  The  United  States 
Fish  Commissioners  reported  the  product  in  one  year: 

151 


152  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

Arkansas,  58,800  lb.,  valued  at  $4162;  Indiana,  24,000 
lb.,  valued  at  $5026;  Ohio,  14,000  lb.,  valued  at  $2340; 
Vermont,  5500  lb.,  valued  at  $825,  etc.  —  a  total  of  $22,953. 

The  enormous  and  increasing  prices  of  large  diamond- 
backed  turtles,  and  the  cheapness  of  little  ones  shows  that 
maturing,  at  least,  if  not  actually  breeding  them,  would  be 
well  worth  investigation.  Many  wealthy  New  Yorkers 
send  direct  to  Maryland  for  their  supplies.  Where  turtle 
meat  is  bottled  or  canned,  the  snapping  turtle  and  the  com- 
mon box  tortoise  are  sometimes  used  as  "substitutes." 
Both  are  capital  eating. 

The  carp  is  one  of  the  most  excellent  fresh  water  fish,  and 
is  of  great  value  on  account  of  the  facility  of  culture  and 
the  enormous  extent  to  which  this  is  carried  on.  "In  Eu- 
rope some  artificial  ponds  comprise  an  area  of  no  less  than 
20,000  acres,  and  the  proceeds  amount  to  about  500,000 
pounds  of  carp  per  annum.'-'  (Hessel,  in  "Carp  and  Its 
Culture.") 

It  attains  the  weight  of  three  to  four  pounds  in  three  years 
without  artificial  feeding,  and  much  more  under  more  favor- 
able conditions.  It  lives  to  a  great  age  and  continues  to  grow 
all  the  while. 

"In  Europe  it  is  common  to  see  carp  weighing  from  thirty 
to  forty  pounds  and  more,  measuring  nearly  three  and  one 
half  feet  in  length  and  two  and  three  quarters  feet  in  cir- 
cumference." 

It  lives  on  vegetable  food,  insects,  larvae,  and  worms,  and 
will  not  attack  other  fishes  or  their  spawn.  It  is  easy  to 
raise,  and,  provided  certain  general  rules  are  followed,  suc- 
cess will  attend  its  culture. 

The  localities  best  adapted  to  a  carp  pond  are  those  in 
which  there  is  sufficient  water  at  hand  for  the  summer  as 


NOVEL  LIVE  STOCK  153 

well  as  the  winter.  A  mud  or  loam  soil  is  best  adapted  for 
such  a  pond.  A  rocky,  gravelly  ground  is  not  suited  for 
carp;  the  water  should  be  the  same  depth  all  the  year,  as 
variation  has  an  injurious  effect  on  the  fish. 

Carp  spawn  in  the  spring.  In  stocking  a  pond  three  fe- 
males are  calculated  to  two  males.  The  females  lay  a 
great  number  of  eggs,  but  only  a  small  number  are  impreg- 
nated. The  most  liberal  estimate  will  not  exceed  from  800 
to  1000  to  one  spawner,  the  aggregate  per  acre  amounting 
to  from  4000  to  5000. 

The  large  cities  containing  large  numbers  of  Europeans 
furnish  the  principal  markets  for  carp.  The  Jewish  people 
will  not,  as  a  rule,  buy  carp  unless  they  are  alive,  so  it  is  not 
an  uncommon  thing  to  see  fish  dealers  in  the  Hebrew  quar- 
ters pushing  through  the  streets  carts  constructed  as  tanks 
and  peddling  the  carp  alive. 

Some  years  ago  carp  ponds  were  quite  a  fad  among  farmers 
of  the  Central  West.  Americans  have  been  slow  to  adopt 
the  German  carp  as  a  food  fish. 

Trout,  of  course,  can  be  raised,  and  the  high  prices  which 
they  bring,  both  in  market  and  for  fishing  privileges,  make 
them  very  attractive;  but  the  cold  running  water  needed 
makes  opportunity  for  breeding  them  with  access  to  a  good 
market  generally  unavailable  to  owners  of  five  acres. 

There  is  another  fish,  famous  for  its  eating  qualities,  which 
well  repays  effort  put  upon  its  production.  I  refer  to  the 
black  bass.  It  is  indigenous  to  the  waters  of  the  Eastern 
states,  where  it  is  usually  found  in  creeks  or  rivers.  It  can 
be  successfully  bred  in  properly  constructed  ponds. 

Mr.  Dwight  Lyell,  in  Forest  and  Stream,  has  this  to  say 
about  a  breeding  place  for  the  small-mouthed  black  bass. 
"The  pond  should  be  six  feet  deep  hi  the  center  and  two 


154  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

feet  around  the  edge ;  the  bottom  should  be  of  natural  sand ; 
water  plants  should  be  growing  in  profusion,  particularly 
such  aquatic  plants  as  the  Daphnia,  Bosmina,  and  the 
Corix,  to  furnish  food  for  the  young  bass.  A  good  size  for 
a  breeding  pond  is  100  X  100  feet."  For  spawning,  artificial 
nest  frames  are  built  in  rectangular  form.  They  are  made 
two  feet  square  without  bottoms.  On  two  adjoining  sides 
these  frames  are  four  inches  high  and  on  the  other  two  ad- 
joining sides  sixteen  inches  high.  These  frames  are  made 
because  the  bass  needs  a  barrier  behind  which  the  spawning 
may  be  done  and  which  will  protect  the  nest  when  made. 
For  raising  the  fish  to  a  size  large  enough  for  food,  ponds  can 
be  of  any  convenient  size.  In  order  to  keep  the  water  in 
healthful  condition  the  pond  must  be  fed  by  a  flowing  brook 
with  some  provision  to  prevent  the  water  being  disturbed 
by  freshets.  This  can  usually  be  arranged  by  a  sluice  to 
cany  off  the  surplus  water  during  heavy  rains.  Black  bass 
raised  in  shallow  ponds  will  take  the  fly  all  summer,  so  that 
considerable  may  be  made  from  fishing  privileges. 

In  the  absence  of  minnows,  which  are  the  food  of  the 
bass,  they  must  be  fed  on  fresh  liver  cut  in  threads  like  an 
angle  worm  to  tempt  the  fish.  Even  then  the  liver  diet 
must  be  varied  by  feeding  minnows  from  September  until 
the  bass  goes  into  winter  quarters.  In  no  other  way  can 
fertile  eggs  be  assured  for  the  spring  hatching.  Minnows 
left  in  the  pond  all  winter  will  breed  and  so  furnish  fry  on 
which  the  young  bass  can  feed  the  next  summer." 

What  has  been  said  refers  particularly  to  the  small- 
mouthed  black  bass.  The  conditions  are  substantially  the 
same  for  the  large-mouthed  bass  (which  grows  to  a  much 
larger  size),  except  that  the  bottom  may  be  made  of  Spanish 
moss  imbedded  in  cement. 


NOVEL  LIVE  STOCK  155 

There  is  a  growing  market  for  the  young  bass  or  finger- 
lings  to  stock  streams  and  ponds.  The  relation  between 
the  producer  of  stock  fish  and  those  who  expect  to  raise 
bass  of  a  marketable  size  is  about  the  same  as  exists  between 
the  professional  seed  grower  and  the  market  gardener.  It  is 
much  better  for  the  small  farmer  who  has  or  can  make  an 
artificial  pond  to  buy  his  fingerlings  from  the  professional 
breeder,  who  has  facilities  which  are  too  elaborate  to  be 
duplicated  on  a  small  scale. 

Fish  culture,  except  under  government  auspices,  is  little 
known  in  the  United  States. 

American  Homes  and  Gardens  has  an  account  of  the 
breeding  of  pheasants,  which  is  of  interest.  That  it  is  pos- 
sible to  breed  pheasants,  even  around  an  ordinary  suburban 
home,  is  shown  by  Mr.  Homer  Davenport,  the  famous  car- 
toonist, who  succeeded  in  breeding  and  raising  some  of  the 
choicest  pheasants  on  his  place  at  Morris  Plains,  New  Jersey. 

A  great  variety  of  species  are  commonly  bred,  but  all  of 
them  came  from  China  or  India.  The  pheasant  can  be 
tamed  by  careful  handling,  but  cats  and  dogs  and  other 
small  animals  must  be  kept  away.  The  pheasantry  should 
be  placed  on  high,  well-drained  ground  with  a  southern  ex- 
posure, where  the  soil  is  good  enough  to  raise  clover,  oats, 
and  barley.  The  quarters  for  pheasants  and  the  manage- 
ment are  very  much  like  those  for  fancy  chickens.  The  yard 
should  be  inclosed  by  wire  netting  both  on  sides  and  top  to 
keep  the  birds  from  wandering  away ;  and  there  should  be 
houses  for  roosting  and  breeding  with  nesting  quarters  at- 
tached. 

In  Central  Park,  New  York,  the  running  space  allotted 
to  three  or  four  birds  is  not  more  than  ten  by  twenty  feet, 
and  Mr.  George  Ethelbert  Walsh  tells  of  a  case  where  sixty 


156  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

pheasants  were  kept  in  excellent  condition  in  a  house  ten 
by  fifty  feet,  with  five  yards  attached,  averaging  10  X  25 
feet.  However,  with  pheasants,  as  with  all  the  bird  family, 
especially  turkeys,  the  more  ground  they  have  for  ranging 
the  less  liable  they  will  be  to  disease.  The  chief  difficulty 
in  breeding  game  birds  like  the  pheasant  is  to  secure  the 
insects,  such  as  flies,  maggots,  and  ant  eggs,  which  are  the 
natural  food  of  the  young.  Sufficient  green  food  like  lettuce, 
turnip  tops,  cabbage,  etc.,  must  also  be  provided.  There  is 
always  a  market  at  fancy  prices  for  more  of  the  matured 
birds  than  can  possibly  be  supplied. 

Some  people  make  money  in  breeding  or  training  fancy 
birds  like  canaries,  mocking  birds,  finches,  parrots,  and  so 
on;  but  this  industry  can  be  carried  on  almost  as  well  in 
rooms  in  the  city  as  in  the  country.  Specializing  on  any 
kind  of  animal  rearing  must  be  gone  into  with  extreme 
caution,  because  in  the  breeding  of  animals  there  are  many 
factors  to  be  dealt  with  which  do  not  confront  the  breeder 
of  plants.  Make  haste  slowly,  and  before  branching  out  be 
sure  that  you  master  each  step  in  its  turn. 

An  industry  which  is  practically  unknown  in  this  coun- 
try, but  which  flourishes  in  Burgundy,  France,  is  the  raising 
of  snails  for  food.  Those  who  are  shocked  by  this  will  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  snail  culture  was  practiced  by  the 
Romans  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  between  Csesar  and 
Pompey,  as  Jacques  Boyer  says  in  American  Homes  and 
Gardens.  The  snail  lays  from  fifty  to  sixty  eggs  annually. 
They  are  deposited  in  a  smooth  hole  prepared  for  them  in 
the  ground  and  hatched  within  twenty  days.  So  rapidly 
do  they  grow  that  they  are  ready  for  market  six  or  eight 
weeks  after  hatching.  The  snail  park  is  made  by  inclosing 
a  plot  of  damp,  limy  soil  with  smooth  boards  coated  with 


NOVEL  LIVE  STOCK  157 

tar  to  prevent  the  snails  climbing  out,  and  held  in  place  by 
outside  stakes  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  wind.  The 
boards  must  penetrate  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  eight  inches 
at  least,  and  at  a  level  with  the  ground  they  must  have  a  sort 
of  shelf  to  prevent  the  snails  from  burrowing  under  them. 
When  the  snail  encounters  an  obstacle  in  its  path,  it  lays 
its  eggs,  sensible  beast.  Ten  thousand  snails  can  be  raised 
on  a  plot  of  land  one  hundred  by  two  hundred  feet.  The 
ground  is  plowed  deeply  in  the  spring,  the  snails  are  placed 
on  it  and  covered  with  from  two  to  four  inches  of  moss  or 
straw  which  is  kept  damp.  They  must  be  fed  daily  with 
lettuce,  cabbage,  vine  leaves,  or  grass ;  as  they  eat  at  night, 
they  are  fed  shortly  before  sunset.  Aromatic  herbs,  like 
mint,  parsley,  etc.,  are  planted  in  the  inclosure  to  improve 
the  flavor  of  the  snails. 

In  October,  the  snails  having  become  fat  through  the 
summer,  retire  into  their  shells,  the  mouths  of  which  they 
close  with  a  thin  gelatinous  covering.  They  are  now  ready 
for  picking,  and  are  put  on  screens  or  trays  which  are  piled 
together  in  storehouses,  where  they  remain  several  months 
without  food.  When  the  fast  has  been  sufficiently  prolonged, 
the  shells  are  brushed  up  and  the  snails  cooked  in  salt  water 
in  a  great  pot  holding  about  ten  thousand.  When  cooked, 
they  are  immediately  sent  to  the  consumer  in  wooden  boxes 
holding  from  fifty  to  two  hundred.  The  business  is  a  very 
profitable  one,  as  the  snail  is  considered  a  great  delicacy  by 
epicures. 

Perhaps  the  silkworm  is  not  exactly  in  place  in  a  chapter 
on  Novel  Live  Stock.  It  is  at  present  not  much  more  than 
an  interesting  experiment,  but  there  will  be  money  in  silk- 
worm culture  as  soon  as  a  market  for  the  product  is  de- 
veloped. The  main  difficulty  is  lack  of  food,  as  the  worm 


158  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

thrives  best  on  the  leaf  of  the  white  mulberry  tree.  Until  a 
substitute  is  found,  it  will  be  necessary  therefore  to  set  out 
young  trees,  which  in  two  years  will  bear  enough  leaves  to 
supply  food.  The  labor  of  silkworm  rearing  all  comes  in 
one  month.  It  can  be  carried  on  in  any  large,  airy  room. 
The  eggs  are  hatched  by  the  summer  heat,  and  the  worm 
does  not  become  a  heavy  eater  until  the  last  two  weeks.  It 
sheds  its  skin  four  times,  and  after  the  final  moult  it  climbs 
into  loose  brush  prepared  for  it  and  spins  the  cocoon.  These 
are  then  dried  and  shipped. 

At  the  South,  where  the  climate  is  well  suited  for  silk  cul- 
ture, an  obstacle  has  been  found  in  the  unadaptability  of  the 
cheap  labor,  particularly  colored  labor,  to  the  delicate  han- 
dling, and  especially  winding  of  the  silk  from  the  cocoons. 

Many  people  make  money  by  breeding  dogs.  Not  much 
land  is  required  and  very  little  capital,  as  kennels  can  be 
multiplied  as  demand  increases.  There  is  always  a  profit- 
able market  for  dogs,  and  some  of  the  lap  species,  like  the 
King  Charles  spaniel,  bring  fabulous  prices.  Hunting  dogs, 
such  as  setters,  pointers,  retrievers,  really  require  a  game 
country  and  a  practical  hunter  who  can  train  the  puppies, 
to  make  much  of  a  success  of  it;  with  these,  if  properly 
handled,  the  business  is  a  safe  one,  as  there  is  little  other 
technical  skill  required  beyond  ordinary  care,  such  as  is 
given  to  domestic  animals. 

Cats  are  a  better  venture  than  dogs  because  they  are 
sold  to  women  who  will  pay  any  price  for  what  strikes  their 
fancy.  Fashions  in  cats  change  about  as  fast  as  fashions  in 
coats,  but  cats  breed  faster  than  coats  wear  out,  so  it  is 
quick  business. 

Just  now,  coon  cats,  tortoise-shell  cats,  and  bizarre  colors 
of  Persian  cats  are  mostly  in  vogue,  but  the  tailless  Manx 


NOVEL  LIVE  STOCK  159 

cat,  and  even  freaks  like  the  six-toed  cat  and  lynx  cats 
always  find  a  ready  market. 

Of  course,  these  can  be  raised  in  the  city,  but  if  it  is  done 
in  a  large  enough  way  to  make  a  living  out  of  it,  the  Board 
of  Health  and  the  neighbors  will  raise  —  something  else. 

Fishing  and  hunting  are  primitive  industries  of  which  we 
think  only  in  connection  with  wild  land.  But  every  bay 
and  pond  and  wood  will  supply  at  least  some  subsistence  or 
profit  to  the  intelligent  seeker. 

Oysters,  clams,  crabs,  mussels,  frogs,  and  common  fish 
are  found  in  abundance  in  many  places,  and  help  out  with 
table  expenses.  Even  English  sparrows  are  delicious. 

Almost  any  wild  animal  is  much  more  wholesome  to  eat 
than  pork.  Squirrels  and  even  weasels  are  cleaner  feeders 
than  pigs,  and  the  Indians  eat  them  with  great  relish,  while 
everybody  knows  the  keenness  of  the  darkies  for  "coon." 
Most  snakes  are  better  eating  than  eels  and  not  near  so  re- 
pulsive —  when  you  get  used  to  them. 

The  woodchuck  is  a  nuisance  to  the  farmer,  covering  his 
field  with  loads  of  subsoil  from  the  burrow  and  then  eating 
the  tender  sprouts;  and  the  farmer  does  not  know  enough 
to  eat  his  tender  corpse,  but  he  is  good  to  eat.  If  a  rabbit 
and  a  chicken  could  have  young,  it  would  taste  like  a  wood- 
chuck. 

Muskrats,  mink,  raccoons,  and  gray  and  fox  squirrels  are 
easily  trapped ;  and  the  skins  of  those  killed  in  that  way  find 
a  steady  market.  Skins  of  poisoned  animals  do  not  sell  so 
well,  as  they  are  rough  and  dry. 

In  order  to  be  profitable,  these  do  not  need  to  pay  very 
well  in  proportion  to  the  time  they  take,  since  they  are 
hunted  as  recreation  and  at  odd  times. 

But  there  is  a  larger  field  in  raising  wild  animals,  which 


160  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

our  Western  people  have  not  been  slow  to  avail  themselves 
of,  and  we  hear  of  men  being  prosecuted  for  breeding  wolves, 
coyotes,  and  bobcats,  a  kind  of  lynx,  to  get  the  government 
bounty  for  the  snouts  or  scalps. 

In  a  legitimate  way  profit  may  be  had  from  such  animals. 

Ernest  Thompson  Seton  has  an  article  in  Country  Life  in 
America,  on  raising  fur-bearing  animals  for  profit;  this 
offers  a  good  chance  for  small  capital  and  large  intelligence. 
He  suggests  the  beaver,  mink,  otter,  skunk,  and  marten,  and 
says  that  whoever  would  begin  fur  farming  is  better  off  with 
five  acres  than  with  five  hundred.  He  describes  two  fox 
ranches  at  Dover,  Maine.  They  raise  twenty  to  forty  silver 
foxes  a  year,  on  a  little  more  than  half  an  acre  of  land. 
The  silver  fox's  fur  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  on  the  market 
and  sells  at  an  average  of  $150  a  pelt,  that  is,  $3000  to 
$6000  gross  for  the  year's  work.  Foxes  are  not  expensive 
to  breed,  their  food  consisting  chiefly  of  sour  milk  and  corn- 
meal  or  flour  made  into  a  cake,  and  a  little  meat  about  once 
a  week. 

The  capital  required  is  small.  A  fence  for  the  inclosure 
should  be  of  one  and  a  half  inch  mesh  No.  16  galvanized 
wire,  ten  feet  high,  with  an  overhang  of  eighteen  inches  to 
keep  the  foxes  from  escaping,  and  is  about  the  only  outlay 
except  for  purchase  of  stock. 

Stakes  should  be  driven  close  to  the  fence  to  keep  them 
from  burrowing  out. 

They  are  naturally  clean  animals,  and  with  careful  atten- 
tion are  free  from  disease.  Mr.  Stevens  reports  that  in  his 
two  years'  experience  he  has  had  twenty  to  thirty  foxes  and 
lost  none  by  disease,  while  Mr.  Norton,  with  five  years' 
experience,  carrying  thirty  to  forty,  reports  that  one  to  two 
die  each  year. 


NOVEL  LIVE  STOCK  161 

They  breed  as  well  in  captivity  as  in  their  wild  state, 
usually  bringing  forth  a  litter  of  six  or  seven  in  the  spring. 
These  breed  the  following  spring  and  then*  fur  is  ready  for 
market  the  following  December.  And  now  breeders  sell 
fine  stock  to  other  breeders  who  are  entering  the  industry, 
sometimes  getting  three  to  four  hundred  dollars  per  pair. 
Mr.  Seton  remarks,  "I  am  satisfied  that  any  man  who  has 
made  a  success  of  hens  can  make  a  success  of  foxes,  with 
this,  advantage  for  the  latter  —  a  fox  requires  no  more 
space  or  care  than  a  hen,  but  is  worth  twenty  times  as 
much,  and  so  gives  a  chance  for  returns  twenty  times  as 
large." 

This  is  an  infant  industry,  but  if  others  can  get  the  same 
results,  it  will  pay  handsomely.  To  get  the  best  furs, 
however,  requires  a  district  where  the  winters  are  cold 
and  long. 

There  are  a  few  skunk  farms  in  the  West.  It  is  said  that 
the  scent  gland  can  be  taken  out,  though  that  is  not  neces- 
sary, and  that  the  farms  do  well.  Their  oil  is  also  said  to  be 
valuable.  But  while  skunks  are  so  common  there  cannot 
be  much  in  breeding  them. 

If  your  fancy  goes  to  "critters"  rather  than  crops  it  is 
much  better  to  raise  game  birds.  Wild  turkeys  raised  under 
a  hen  or  in  an  incubator  and  made  pretty  tame  (if  too  tame 
they  do  not  thrive  so  well  in  a  small  area),  "wild"  ducks, 
grouse,  partridges,  quails,  even  wood  ducks  which  build 
their  nests  in  trees  are  no  longer  experiments. 

All  the  common  enemies  you  have  to  contend  against  are 
foxes,  dogs,  cats,  rats,  mink,  skunks,  hawks,  owls,  crows, 
frogs,  turtles,  snakes,  poachers,  game  legislators,  and 
disease. 

It  has  been  calculated  that  one  pair  of  quails  and  its 


162  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

progeny  would  produce  five  or  six  million  birds  in  eight  years 
if  there  were  no  losses.  But  so  would  chickens ;  and  prob- 
ably you  will  not  get  that  many. 

All  about  these  game  birds  is  set  forth  in  an  advertising 
booklet  called,  "Game  Farming"  of  the  Hercules  Powder 
Co.,  which  has  offices  in  a  dozen  cities,  so  we  need  not  en- 
large. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WHERE  TO  GO 

INTENSIVE  cultivation,  raising  a  big  crop  on  little  land,  can 
be  carried  on  most  profitably  near  areas  of  dense  population ; 
for  perishable  products,  like  fruits  and  vegetables,  can  be  best 
marketed  near  the  consumer.  The  limit  for  delivery  by 
auto  is  about  fifteen  to  twenty  miles,  and  then  only  if  roads 
are  good;  if  the  land  selected  lies  on  the  line  of  a  railroad 
which  gives  equal  terms  to  way  freight  and  to  through  freight, 
you  will  fare  nearly  as  well.  Railroads  control  agricultural 
development.  Sparsely  settled  regions  always  practice  ex- 
tensive cultivation,  raising  light  crops  on  big  farms,  because 
only  such  crops  can  be  grown  as  can  be  raised  on  large  areas 
by  machinery,  and  are  not  perishable.  Staples  like  corn, 
wheat,  pork,  and  beef  are  transported  at  low  prices  for  long 
distances  by  the  railroads.  This  forces  the  settlers  in  newly 
opened  portions  of  the  country  to  sell  in  a  market  created  by 
the  railroads,  in  competition  with  what  is  produced  within 
the  areas  of  intensive  cultivation,  that  is,  with  access  to 
adjacent  markets. 

So  we  find  the  bonanza  wheat  farms  of  California,  the 
Dakotas,  and  the  Canadian  Northwest,  the  pampas  of  the 
Argentine,  the  Steppes  of  Russia,  and  the  Indian  uplands 
devoted  to  wheat  raising;  in  the  United  States  corn  belt, 
fields  of  from  five  to  twenty  thousand  acres  are  still  not  un- 
common. 

163 


164  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Conversely,  intensive  cultivation  is  most  advanced  in 
China,  where  a  dense  population  forced  the  people  long  ago 
to  bring  into  use  every  foot  of  tillable  soil  that  is  left  open  to 
them. 

Near  the  towns  of  the  United  States  a  few  market  gardeners 
supply  such  vegetables  as  the  people  do  not  raise  for  them- 
selves. The  states  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  have  all  the 
facilities  for  successful  intensive  cultivation  —  a  dense  popu- 
lation and  idle,  cultivable  land.  In  choosing  a  location,  the 
home  crofter  should  well  consider  his  experience,  and  try  to 
enter  a  community  where  he  can  engage  in  analogous  pur- 
suits. Dairy  regions  never  have  enough  men  who  under- 
stand cattle  and  horses ;  fruit-growing  districts  always  need 
experienced  pickers;  market  garden  regions  need  men  who 
understand  rotating  crops  and  making  hotbeds,  transplant- 
ing, etc. 

If  you  have  a  little  money,  you  can  probably  do  best  by 
buying  and  draining  some  swamp  land,  which  is  the  most 
productive  of  all,  as  it  contains  the  washings  of  the  upland 
for  centuries.  Swamp  land  can  usually  be  cleared  and 
drained  for  from  thirty  to  forty  dollars  per  acre.  It  can  be 
bought  very  cheap  and  when  ready  to  cultivate  will  have 
increased  many  times  in  value. 

The  next  best  is  the  "  abandoned "  or  worn-out  farm. 
Proper  methods  of  cultivation  will  bring  it  back  to  more  than 
its  original  fertility.  The  Eastern  states  from  Maine  to 
Virginia  abound  with  them  at  from  five  to  twenty-five 
dollars  per  acre.  In  many  cases  the  buildings  are  worth 
more  than  the  whole  price  asked. 

The  nearest  land  easily  available  in  the  East  is  in  the 
state  of  New  York.  The  writer  believes  it  is  true  that  "  there 
are  twenty  thousand  farms  for  sale  in  this  state,  and  nearly 


WHERE  TO  GO  165 

all  at  such  low  prices  and  upon  such  favorable  terms  as  to 
make  them  available  for  any  one  desiring  to  engage  in  agri- 
culture or  have  a  farm  home.  The  soil  of  these  farms  is  not 
exhausted,  but  on  the  contrary  is,  with  proper  cultivation, 
very  productive.  Nearly  all  have  good  buildings  and  fences, 
are  supplied  with  good  water  and  plenty  of  wood  for  farm 
purposes,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  have  apple  and  other  fruit 
trees  upon  them."  (List  of  Farms,  occupied  and  unoccupied, 
for  sale  in  New  York  State.  Bureau  of  Information  and 
Statistics,  Bulletin,  State  of  New  York,  Department  of  Agri- 
culture.) 

These  farms  are  distributed  all  over  the  state,  some  in 
nearly  every  county.  In  Sullivan  County,  for  example, 
there  are  farms  for  sale  ranging  in  price  from  ten  to  one  hun- 
dred dollars  per  acre.  These  can,  almost  without  exception, 
be  bought  by  small  payments,  balance  on  long  mortgages, 
and  it  is  wonderful  how  cheap  they  are.  In  Ulster  County 
thirty  farms,  some  of  which  I  have  seen,  are  offered  for  sale 
at  trifling  prices. 

Of  course,  many  of  these  farms  have  been  sold  since  the 
first  editions  of  this  book,  and  the  prices  have  advanced,  per- 
haps on  the  average  doubled ;  but  cheap  automobiles  have 
improved  roads  and  have  made  others  available  that  were 
useless  ten  years  ago.  The  development  of  the  Southern 
states,  with  eradication  of  the  cattle  tick  (the  cause  of 
"Texas  Fever")  and  irrigation  and  rotation  of  crops,  has 
opened  up  new  countries.  N.  O.  Nelson  writes  he  has 
bought  many  Louisiana  farms  for  his  cooperative  enterprise 
for  about  what  the  improvements  are  worth. 

Cut  over  woodlands  which  we  have  learned  to  make  pro- 
duce incomes  of  about  five  dollars  each  year  per  acre  by  in- 
telligent forestry,  as  well  as  swamp  lands  which  we  now  know 


166  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

how  to  make  healthful  by  drainage  and  by  the  extinction  of 
mosquitoes,  can  still  be  had  at  low  prices  in  New  York  and 
other  states.  Numerous  others  are  in  the  market  from  five 
dollars  per  acre  up,  and  so  it  goes  through  the  state,  from 
Wyoming  County  in  the  extreme  western  end,  where  farms 
ranging  from  thirty  to  three  hundred  acres  are  in  the  market 
at  from  thirty  to  forty  dollars  per  acre,  to  St.  Lawrence 
County  in  the  north,  where  land  can  be  bought  as  low  as 
fifteen  dollars  per  acre. 

When  it  is  considered  that  these  lands  are  within  easy  ac- 
cess to  established  markets  with  transportation  and  mail 
facilities,  rural  delivery,  and  telephone  a  proper  idea  may 
be  formed  of  their  value  in  opportunity.  The  authority 
quoted  further  states  that  "probably  fifty  thousand  agri- 
cultural laborers  can  find  employment  on  the  farms  of  New 
York  at  good  wages.  Families  particularly  are  wanted  to 
rent  houses  and  work  farms  on  shares."  Wages  for  new 
hands  run  from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  and  upwards  per 
month  with  board.  Men  who  know  how  to  milk  are  es- 
pecially in  demand  throughout  the  dairy  regions.  These  con- 
ditions make  it  possible  for  experienced  farmers,  although 
entirely  without  money,  to  get  to  the  soil. 

Over  three  hundred  thousand  aliens  annually  settled  in 
the  cities  of  New  York  State  during  some  years  in  the  last 
decade.  These  people  could  be  got  out  of  the  cities,  where 
in  normal  times  they  are  little  needed,  into  adjacent  country 
districts  where  they  are  much  needed. 

In  the  Real  Estate  Record  and  Guide,  Mr.  A.  L.  Langdon 
says :  "  It  is  most  remarkable  that  there  are  on  Long  Island, 
within  from  thirty-five  to  seventy  miles  of  New  York,  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  land  which  have  never  been  cultivated,  which 
have  for  years  produced  nothing  but  cordwood,  and  which 


WHERE  TO  GO  167 

the  owners  allow  to  be  overrun  with  fire  almost  every  year. 
A  large  part  of  this  land  has  soil  two  or  three  feet  deep  under- 
laid with  gravel.  The  best  water  in  the  world  is  abundant 
and  the  climate  is  more  equable  than  on  the  mainland,  and 
in  each  locality  where  any  reasonable  effort  has  been  made 
to  cultivate  the  soil,  it  has  produced  plentifully  of  all  fruits 
and  vegetables  which  can  be  grown  in  this  latitude." 

Long  Island  should  produce  all  the  fruit,  vegetables,  poultry, 
eggs,  and  milk  needed  by  its  own  residents,  with  a  large  sur- 
plus for  the  city  markets,  instead  of  getting,  as  it  does,  a 
large  part  of  its  supply  of  these  things  from  the  city. 

When  it  is  considered  that  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  acres 
of  this  land  so  close  to  the  city  is  now  scrub  oak  and  uncul- 
tivated waste,  and  that  there  are  about  a  million  adult 
workers  in  the  city,  the  importance  of  the  experiment  is  ob- 
vious ;  especially  as  we  learn  from  the  United  States  census 
that  over  ten  thousand  of  these  workers  are  already  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  within  the  city  limits. 

"  Here  midway  on  Long  Island,  and  just  beyond  the  limits 
for  a  man  to  locate  who  expects  to  earn  his  living  by  daily 
work  in  the  city,  is  a  territory  about  forty  miles  long  and  ten 
miles  wide  which  by  intensive  farming  would  yield  a  good 
living  for  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 
In  this  agricultural  section,  a  man  of  small  means  who  ex- 
pects to  live  on  the  land  the  year  round,  should  purchase  a 
plot  not  too  small  to  produce  enough  to  support  himself  and 
family  and  a  surplus  to  sell,  not  less  than  six  acres.  Probably 
all  men  have  more  or  less  land  hunger  —  a  desire  to  own  land 
—  and  it  is  a  worthy  object  to  encourage  to  the  extent  of  in- 
ducing a  man  to  purchase  what  he  can  pay  for  and  be  satisfied 
with,  but  it  is  a  shameful  thing  to  induce  a  poor  man,  who  has 
to  earn  his  living  hi  New  York,  to  buy  on  the  installment 


168  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

plan  a  small  lot  so  far  from  his  place  of  employment  that  he 
cannot  live  on  it  and  travel  to  and  from  his  work  every  day, 
and  where  there  is  the  strongest  probability  that  he  will  never 
make  more  than  two  or  three  payments,  and  will  consequently 
lose  what  he  does  pay."  The  writer  hears  of  one  plot  which 
was  sold  nineteen  times  and  the  contracts  defaulted  on  after 
payments,  before  any  one  took  title. 

If  the  seeker  is  not  satisfied  with  the  opportunities  which 
the  state  of  New  York  offers,  he  may  turn  to  New  Jersey, 
equally  accessible  and  equally  rich  in  chances. 

New  Jersey  Year-Book :  "  There  are  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  State  large  tracts  of  land  which  are  still  uncleared,  or 
covered  with  brushwood,  and  which  are  adapted  to  tillage 
and  capable  of  producing  large  crops  of  small  fruits  and  mar- 
ket garden  vegetables.  The  wood  on  them  is  mainly  scrub 
oak,  with  some  dwarfed  pitch  pine  and  yellow  pine,  and  hence 
they  are  called  oak  lands  to  distinguish  them  from  the  more 
sandy  lands  and  tracts  on  which  the  pitch  pine  grows  almost 
exclusively.  The  latter  are  known  as  pine  lands.  The  total 
area  of  cleared  (farm)  lands  in  the  southern  division  of  the 
State,  southeast  of  the  marl  belt,  is  about  450,000  acres.  The 
pineland  belts  have  an  aggregate  area  of  486,000  acres,  mak- 
ing at  least  800,000  acres  accessible  by  railways  from  the 
large  cities  and  also  near  to  tidewater  navigation.  The 
maps  of  the  Geological  Survey  show  the  location  and  the 
extent  of  these  lands,  their  railway  lines,  and  their  relation 
to  the  settlements  already  made  and  to  the  cities. 

"The  soils  of  these  tracts  are  sandy  and  not  naturally  so 
rich  and  fertile  as  the  more  heavy  clay  soils  of  the  limestone, 
the  red  shale,  and  the  marl  districts  of  the  State,  but  they 
are  not  so  sandy  and  so  coarse-grained  as  to  be  non-produc- 
tive, like  some  of  the  pineland  areas.  The  latter  are  often 


WHERE  TO  GO  169 

deficient  in  plant  food  and  are  deservedly  characterized  as 
pine  barrens,  being  too  poor  for  farm  purposes.  The  growth 
of  oak  and  pine,  as  well  as  chemical  analyses,  shows  that  the 
oak-land  soils  contain  the  elements  of  plant  production. 
They  are  not  so  well  suited  to  pasturage  or  to  continuous 
cropping  as  naturally  rich  virgin  soils ;  they  are  better  fitted 
for  raising  vegetables,  melons,  sweet  potatoes,  small  fruits, 
peaches,  and  pears  than  wheat,  Indian  corn,  hay,  and  other 
staples.  The  eminent  superiority  of  this  kind  of  farming  in 
New  Jersey  over  the  old  routine  of  wheat,  corn,  hay,  and  po- 
tatoes is  well  known.  These  South  Jersey  soils  are  easily 
cleared  of  brushwood  or  standing  timber,  and  of  stumps, 
with  a  hand  or  horse-power  puller  which  is  a  cheap  affair, 
and  the  wood  is  salable  in  all  this  part  of  the  State  at  remu- 
nerative prices,  often  bringing  more  than  the  original  cost  of 
the  land.  The  long  working  season  and  the  short  and  mild 
winter  favor  the  arrangement  of  work,  so  that  all  is  done 
with  the  least  outlay  for  help.  They  also  favor  the  mos- 
quitoes. 

"  The  success  of  Hammonton,  Egg  Harbor  City,  Vineland, 
and  other  places  is  notable,  and  equally  good  results  are  to  be 
had  at  a  hundred  or  more  places  as  well  situated  as  they  are. 
These  lands  are  sold  at  low  figures,  and  the  settler  saves  in 
capital  and  interest  account.  Only  the  difficulty  of  getting 
money  to  help  in  building  interferes  with  rapid  settlement. 

"The  West  Jersey  Railway,  the  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
Philadelphia  and  Reading's  Atlantic  City  Railroad,  the  Phil- 
adelphia and  Seashore  Railway,  the  New  Jersey  Southern 
Railroad,  and  other  branch  roads  afford  excellent  facilities 
for  access  to  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  the  cities  of  the 
State.  The  Cohansey,  Maurice,  and  Mullica  rivers  head  well 
up  near  the  northwest  limits  of  these  lands,  and  their  navi- 


170  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

gable  reaches  run  for  miles  across  them.  The  waters  of  the 
Delaware  Bay  and  the  ocean  are  within  a  few  miles  of  a  large 
part  of  this  oak-land  domain. 

"The  advantages  of  an  old  settled  and  Eastern  State, 
within  easy  reach  of  these  large  markets,  of  land  which  is 
easily  tilled  and  generous  and  quick  in  its  response  to  feeding, 
and  at  low  prices,  make  them  equal  to,  if  not  better  than,  the 
rich  prairie  soils  of  a  new  West,  or  the  low  prices  and  cheap 
lands  of  the  abandoned  hillsides  of  New  England." 

Wages  for  unskilled  farm  labor  are  about  the  same  as  for 
New  York  —  twenty  to  twenty-five  dollars  per  month.  The 
canning  and  fruit  industries  make  room  for  a  large  number  of 
people  in  the  late  summer  and  fall,  who  may  thus,  by  taking 
a  temporary  place,  find  some  permanent  location  where 
they  may  improve  their  health  and  fortunes. 

"Delaware  also  offers  unequalled  opportunities  to  immi- 
grants. It  is  ideally  situated  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the 
Delaware  Bay,  and  is  penetrated  by  numerous  creeks  and 
rivers. 

"The  railroad,  steam,  and  electric  facilities  of  the  State 
are  developing  steadily  year  by  year,  while  every  section  of 
the  State  possesses  easily  navigable  streams,  with  vessels 
for  carrying  freight  and  passengers. 

"  Over  fifteen  millions  of  people  live  within  a  radius  of  three 
hundred  miles ;  the  large  majority  reside  in  cities  and  towns 
and  furnish  the  finest  markets  in  the  world.  Within  five 
hundred  miles  are  more  than  one  third  of  the  people  of  all 
North  America. 

"Wilmington  is  a  city  of  seventy-five  thousand  people,  is 
growing  rapidly,  and  is  becoming  a  great  manufacturing  place. 

"These  people  may  be  reached  in  one  day  by  the  luscious 
fruits  that  grow  in  Delaware,  and  every  one  of  them  is  per- 


WHERE  TO  GO  171 

fectly  happy  when  he  gets  a  Delaware  peach.  Many  other 
Delaware  products  are  as  good  as  the  peaches. 

"As  cattle  and  wheat  raising  developed  in  the  great  West, 
Delaware  people  thought  that  they  were  ruined.  They  did 
not  change  at  once,  but  slowly  discovered  that  the  light 
lands  are  wonderfully  productive  of  fruits  and  vegetables, 
and  that  they  pay  much  better  than  cattle  and  grain  ever 
could.  But  these  new  methods  have  not  been  adopted 
in  all  parts  of  the  State,  so  that  land  neglected  and  unprofit- 
able is  for  sale.  The  tides  of  immigration  have  swept  west- 
ward and  left  Delaware  untouched.  Men,  money,  and 
enterprise  are  needed. 

"There  are  few  unoccupied  or  'abandoned'  farms  in 
Delaware."  The  land  is  mostly  held  by  descendants  of  the 
early  settlers,  who  form  a  species  of  landed  aristocracy. 
Lately,  owing  to  the  younger  members  of  these  families 
having  become  established  in  the  newer  states  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  death  or  incapacity  of  the  older  members  left 
in  possession,  there  has  been  a  marked  tendency  to  sell  off 
these  farms.  However,  "a  large  proportion  of  the  farms 
in  Delaware  are  not  for  sale  at  any  price.  -  Some  of  them 
have  been  hi  the  same  family  for  generations,  and  if  put 
on  the  market  would  sell  for  from  one  to  two  hundred 
dollars  per  acre." 

The  soil  is  all  the  way  from  a  heavy  white  oak  clay,  which 
is  too  stiff  and  too  sticky  for  most  crops,  to  very  light  sand. 

The  heaviest  clay  is  made  lighter  and  more  porous,  and 
the  lightest  sand  is  readily  made  retentive  of  moisture  and 
extremely  productive,  by  plowing  hi  different  kinds  of  crops 
as  green  manure,  such  as  cow  peas,  soy  beans,  the  vetches, 
etc. ;  crimson  clover,  winter  oats,  rye,  turnips,  and  numerous 
other  crops  may  be  sown  in  August  or  later,  and  produce  a 


172  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

fine  crop  for  turning  under  early  in  the  spring.  Crimson 
clover  grows  nearly  all  winter.  Pure  cold  water  is  reached 
at  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  by  dug  or  driven  wells. 

The  climate  is  good;  there  are  no  cyclones.  There  is 
some  damp  weather  in  winter,  but  there  are  no  malignant 
fevers,  and  there  is  little  or  no  malaria,  except  in  a  few  marshy 
places.  There  are  some  mosquitoes  and  flies,  but  they  are  not 
especially  troublesome,  and  there  are  no  poisonous  reptiles. 

The  population  is  mostly  native,  five  sixths  white,  one  sixth 
colored.  The  white  population  is  almost  entirely  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  descent. 

"Perfect  titles  may  be  secured,  but  all  titles  everywhere 
should  always  be  searched  by  a  competent  lawyer,  the  usual 
fee  for  which  is  ten  to  twenty  dollars. 

"Farm  hands  receive  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  dollars 
per  month  and  board,  for  a  season  of  nine  or  ten  months, 
sometimes  for  the  whole  year.  Day  hands  receive  from 
seventy-five  cents  to  two  dollars  per  day  and  board 
themselves." 

Those  who  are  tempted  by  the  advertisements  for  fruit- 
pickers  should  beware.  Delaware,  like  some  other  states, 
allows  fees  to  constables  and  to  the  "  squires "  —  Justices  of 
the  Peace  they  would  be  elsewhere  —  for  arrests,  and  it  is 
a  common  practice  to  advertise  for  fruit  pickers,  then  ar- 
rest them  as  tramps  when  they  come,  and  the  next  day  re- 
lease them  on  condition  that  they  will  leave  the  county  at 
once  —  and  leave  the  trap  open  for  the  next  comer. 

Delaware  peaches  have  made  fortunes  for  many,  but  will 
make  still  greater  fortunes  in  the  future  for  the  owners  of 
the  land. 

Pears,  plums,  grapes,  watermelons,  and  cantaloupes  thrive, 
and  find  an  ideal  home,  and  small  fruits  all  flourish.  Sweet 


WHERE  TO  GO  173 

potatoes  yield  bountifully  and  are  of  the  finest  quality. 
Asparagus  and  early  white  potatoes  pay  handsome  profits. 
Tomatoes,  the  great  canning  crop,  are  grown  by  the  thou- 
sands of  acres. 

"The  grasses  and  clovers  grow  hi  luxuriance,  and  hence 
dairying  and  beef  production  are  profitable.  Poultry  pays 
as  well  as  anywhere  else ;  chickens  often  run  on  green  clover 
all  through  the  open  whiter. 

"The  game  consists  of  various  species  of  ducks,  quails, 
reed  birds,  hares,  marsh  rabbits,  and  other  small  creatures. 
Shad,  trout,  herring,  crocus,  black  bass,  pike,  white  fish, 
rock  fish,  oysters,  clams,  crabs,  and  terrapin  are  abundant 
in  Delaware  waters." 

The  tax  in  the  rural  counties  is  generally  sixty  cents  on 
the  hundred  dollars.  Besides  this  there  are  taxes  on  business 
and  a  very  light  school  tax.  There  is  no  state  tax,  yet  the 
state  makes  large  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  public 
schools,  which  are  free  to  everybody. 

Maryland  has  established  a  State  Bureau  of  Immigration 
in  Baltimore  to  give  information  to  home  seekers,  and  advise 
them  as  to  choice  of  location,  opportunities  for  getting  started 
in  agricultural  production,  and  aid  them  in  any  way  consist- 
ent with  a  State  Bureau.  Most  of  these  facts  are  taken 
from  such  reports. 

Southern  Maryland  and  the  eastern  shore  are  especially 
adapted  to  gardening  and  trucking,  as  well  as  fruit  growing. 
Land  is  cheap  and  can  be  purchased  in  tracts  of  any  size 
from  an  acre  upwards,  at  from  ten  to  fifty  dollars  per  acre. 
Farms  from  twenty  acres  to  seven  hundred  acres  and  up 
are  for  sale  in  nearly  every  county  in  the  state.  The  removal 
of  a  large  part  of  the  negro  population  from  the  country  to 
the  cities  has  resulted  in  the  partition  of  the  large  estates 


174  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

into  smaller  farms,  thus  affording  an  opportunity  for  home 
seekers  who  are  seeking  cheap  land  amid  congenial  surround- 
ings. Nearly  all  of  these  farms  have  buildings,  some  in 
need  of  repair,  others  in  very  good  condition. 

For  those  who  wish  to  avoid  the  hard  work  of  breaking 
woodlands,  the  eastern  and  western  shores  offer  abundant 
well-cultivated  lands  with  buildings,  orchards,  and  woods, 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  navigable  rivers  and  railways, 
on  good  roads  at  from  twenty  dollars  per  acre  upwards. 
That  seems  cheap. 

For  settlers  who  are  accustomed  to  mountainous  regions, 
western  Maryland  has  land  for  sale  at  even  cheaper  rates. 

"There  are  many  large  tidal  marshes  in  Maryland,  as  might 
be  expected  in  a  territory  watered  like  this  state.  They  are 
of  the  richest  soil  to  be  found,  because  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
is  a  great  river  valley,  receiving  the  drainage  of  a  vast  area 
of  fertile  land,  comprising  nearly  one  third  of  New  York 
and  nearly  all  of  the  great  agricultural  states  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  and  Virginia.  Every  year  this  drainage 
brings  down  a  black  sediment,  called  oyster  mud,  which  is 
deposited  on  the  marshlands  and  enriches  the  soil,  making 
it,  with  proper  cultivation,  of  productivity  like  that  of  the 
rice  and  wheat  fields  of  Egypt.  These  unreclaimed  lands 
are  used  chiefly  for  grain." 

Proper  drainage  of  small  tracts  of  this  land  would  bring 
unsurpassed  and  absolutely  untouched  fertility. 

The  Chesapeake  River  valley  is  not  so  large  as  that  of  the 
Nile  or  Ganges,  but  is  of  enough  consequence  to  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  human  affairs  and  to  support  in  comfort  and 
prosperity  a  population  as  large  as  that  of  many  famous  states. 

"The  eastern  shore  is  uniformly  level,  with  good  roads. 
The  proximity  of  the  ocean  and  the  bay  greatly  modules  the 


WHERE  TO  GO  175 

temperature.  It  has  a  great  trunk  railway,  with  connections 
along  its  entire  length,  called  the  Delaware  Division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  railroad,  which  furnishes  direct  transportation 
to  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  other  northern  cities." 

"On  the  eastern  shore  there  are  many  thousand  acres  of 
land  devoted  to  garden  truck,  and  the  strawberry  crop  has 
of  late  years  become  of  importance.  Over  one  hundred 
carloads  of  strawberries  are  shipped  daily  during  the  season 
to  the  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston 
markets." 

Land  properly  cultivated  will  yield  four  thousand  quarts 
of  strawberries  to  an  acre. 

The  canning  of  various  fruits  and  vegetables  has  grown 
to  be  larger  than  that  of  any  other  state  and  is  one  of  the 
most  profitable  of  the  industries  of  Maryland.  The  prin- 
cipal articles  canned  are  peaches,  peas,  and  tomatoes. 

The  tomato  crop  is  also  profitable  to  the  grower.  The 
young  plants  are  set  out  hi  the  spring ;  many  do  this  with 
a  machine,  but  two  persons  can  easily  plant  seven  acres 
in  a  day  by  hand. 

An  acre  will  produce  from  six  to  eighteen  tons  of  tomatoes, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil.  All  such  products  bring 
better  prices  now  in  Maryland  markets  than  they  did  be- 
fore canning  was  resorted  to.  The  Maryland  tin  can  is 
known  wherever  civilization  reaches. 

Tobacco  is  extensively  produced  only  in  southern  Mary- 
land, although  it  can  be  raised  in  any  section  of  the  state. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  larger  cities  trucking  and 
fruit  growing  are  profitable,  combined  with  poultry  raising, 
often  on  farms  of  not  more  than  five  or  ten  acres. 

Many  farmers  devote  part  of  their  time  successfully  to 
bees,  and  there  is  nowhere  a  better  climate  for  flowers  than 


176  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

that  of  Maryland.  Two  English  florists  who  have  settled 
in  Baltimore  County,  ten  and  thirteen  miles  northeast  of 
the  city,  daily  send  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and 
even  to  Canada  many  large  boxes  of  beautiful  roses,  car- 
nations, violets,  and  other  choice  flowers.  Both  of  these 
men  began  on  a  small  scale  and  have  prospered. 

The  farmer  who  has  a  couple  of  thousand  dollars  to  pay 
cash  for  a  small  farm  in  Maryland  is  assured  of  a  good 
living.  But  also  a  less  favored  settler,  if  he  has  only  from 
four  to  eight  hundred  dollars,  can  have  a  good  start  in  Mary- 
land, and  probably  as  good  a  chance  for  independence  and 
prosperity  as  anywhere. 

Families  of  immigrants  when  traveling  to  the  Western, 
Northwestern,  and  Southern  states  of  America  have  to  spend 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  dollars  for  rail- 
road tickets  from  New  York  to  their  destination ;  by  going 
to  these  adjoining  states  they  can  save  all  that  money,  and 
invest  it  in  land. 

The  Virginia  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Immigration 
also  publishes  information  for  the  home  seeker. 

To  most  people  the  name  Virginia  carries  with  it  limitless 
vistas  of  tobacco  fields  covered  with  darkies  plying  the  hoe, 
or  picking  off  the  ubiquitous  worm.  Before  the  War  this 
picture  would  have  been  a  true  one ;  but  since  the  awaken- 
ing of  the  younger  generation  to  a  better  understanding  of 
her  resources,  together  with  the  withdrawal  of  large  numbers 
of  the  colored  people  into  industrial  occupations,  no  state 
offers  more  attractive  inducements  to  the  homecrofter  than 
Virginia.  In  climate,  diversity  of  soils,  fruits,  forests,  water 
supply,  mineral  deposits,  including  mountain  and  valley, 
she  offers  unsurpassed  advantages.  Truly  did  Captain 
John  Smith,  the  adventurous  father  of  Virginia,  suggest  that 


WHERE  TO  GO  177 

"Heaven  and  earth  never  agreed  better  to  frame  a  place  for 
man's  habitation." 

Virginia  lies  between  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  re- 
moved alike  from  the  sultry,  protracted  summers  of  the 
more  southern  states,  and  the  longer  winters  and  devastating 
storm  and  cyclones  of  the  North  and  Northwest.  Its  limits 
north  and  south  correspond  to  California  and  southern 
Europe. 

The  climate  is  mild  and  healthful.  The  winters  are  less 
severe  than  in  the  Northern  and  Northwestern  states,  or 
even  the  western  localities  of  the  same  latitude,  while  the 
occasional  periods  of  extreme  heat  in  the  summer  are  not 
more  oppressive  than  hi  many  portions  of  the  North. 

Tidewater  Virginia,  or  the  Coastal  Plain,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  receives  the  name  from  the  fact  that  the  streams 
that  penetrate  it  feel  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tides  from  the 
ocean  up  to  the  head  of  navigation.  It  consists  chiefly  of 
broad  and  level  plains,  while  a  considerable  portion,  nearest 
to  the  bay,  has  shallow  bays  and  estuaries,  and  marshes 
that  are  in  most  instances  reached  only  by  the  ocean  tides. 
These  marshes  abound  with  wild  duck  and  sora.  Tidewater 
is  mainly  an  alluvial  country.  The  soil  is  chiefly  light,  sandy 
loam,  underlaid  with  clay.  Its  principal  productions  are 
fruits  and  early  vegetables,  which  are  raised  in  extensive 
"market  gardens,"  and  shipped  in  large  quantities  to  North- 
ern cities.  The  fertilizing  minerals  —  gypsum,  marl,  and 
greensand  —  abound,  and  their  judicious  use  readily  restores 
the  lands  when  exhausted  by  improvident  cultivation. 

Middle  Virginia  is  a  wide,  undulating  plain,  crossed  by 
many  rivers  that  have  cut  their  channels  to  a  considerable 
depth  and  are  bordered  by  alluvial  bottom  lands  that  are 
very  productive.  The  soil  consists  of  clays  with  a  subsoil 


178  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

of  disintegrated  sandstone  rocks,  and  varies  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  rock  from  which  it  is  formed. 

The  principal  productions  of  middle  Virginia  are  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  and  tobacco.  The  tobacco  raised  in  this  sec- 
tion and  hi  Piedmont,  known  as  the  "Virginia  Leaf,"  is  the 
best  grown  and  the  best  known  in  the  United  States.  In 
this  section,  as  in  Tidewater,  the  low  bottom  lands  formed 
by  the  sediment  of  the  waters  are  exceptionally  productive. 

The  Piedmont  section  is  diversified  and  surpassingly  pic- 
turesque. The  soil  is  heavier  than  that  of  middle  Virginia, 
the  subsoil  being  of  stiff  and  dark  red  clay.  On  the  slopes 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  grapes  of  delicious  flavor  grow  luxuriantly. 
These  produce  excellent  wines,  and  the  clarets  have  a  wide 
fame.  The  pippin  apples  of  this  section  are  of  unrivaled 
excellence. 

The  "  Great  Valley,"  as  it  is  descriptively  called,  is  in  the 
general  configuration  one  continuous  valley,  included  be- 
tween the  two  mountain  chains  that  extend  throughout  the 
state ;  it  is  one  of  the  most  abundantly  watered  regions  on 
the  face  of  the  globe.  Deep  limestone  beds  form  the  floor  of 
the  Great  Valley,  and  from  these  beds  the  soil  derives  an 
exceeding  fertility,  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  growth  of  grasses 
and  gram,  and  it  bears  the  name  of  the  "garden  spot"  of 
the  state. 

Five  trunk  lines  of  railroads  penetrate  and  intersect  the 
state.  The  lines  of  steamboats  that  ply  the  navigable 
streams  of  eastern  Virginia  afford  commercial  communica- 
tion for  large  sections  of  the  state  with  the  markets  of  this 
country  and  of  Europe.  Norfolk  and  Newport  News  main- 
tain communication  with  the  European  markets  by  steamers 
and  vessels,  while  from  these  ports  is  also  kept  up  an  exten- 
sive commerce  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  The  seaports 


WHERE  TO  GO  179 

are  nearer  than  is  New  York  to  the  great  centers  of  popu- 
lation, and  areas  of  production,  of  the  West  and  Northwest. 

Market  garden  crops  of  every  description  can  be  grown. 
The  following  result  was  obtained  on  a  four-acre  patch  near 
Norfolk : 

j  "The  owner  stated  that  in  September  he  sowed  spinach  on 
four  acres.  Between  Christmas  and  the  first  of  March  fol- 
lowing he  cut  and  sold  the  spinach  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred 
barrels  to  the  acre,  at  a  price  ranging  from  two  to  seven  dol- 
lars per  barrel  —  an  average  of  $4.50  per  barrel.  Early  in 
March  the  four  acres  were  set  out  to  lettuce,  setting  the 
plants  in  the  open  air  with  no  protection  whatever,  [175,000 
plants  on  the  four  acres.  He  shipped  450  half-barrel  baskets 
of  lettuce  to  the  acre,  at  a  price  ranging  from  $2  to  $2.75  per 
basket. 

"  Early  in  April,  just  before  the  lettuce  was  ready  to  ship, 
he  planted  snap  beans  between  the  lettuce  rows;  and  to- 
day, June  2d,  these  are  the  finest  beans  we  have  seen  this 
season. 

"The  last  week  in  May  he  planted  cantaloupes  between 
the  bean  rows,  which,  when  marketed  in  July,  will  make 
four  crops  from  the  same  land  in  one  year's  time.  The 
cantaloupes  will  be  good  for  250  crates  to  the  acre,  and  the 
price  will  run  from  $1  to  $1.50  per  crate.  A  careful  inves- 
tigation of  these  'facts,  figures,  and  features  '  will  show 
that  his  gross  sales  will  easily  reach  $2000  per  acre ;  his  net 
profits  depend  largely  upon  the  man  and  the  management; 
but  they  surely  should  not  be  less  than  $1000  clear,  clean 
profit  to  the  acre." 

"This  is  for  farming  done  all  out  of  doors.  No  hothouse 
or  hotbed  work  —  not  a  bit  of  it,  with  no  extra  expense,  for 
hotbeds,  cold  frames,  or  hothouses." 


180  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

"Intensive,"  thorough  tillage  and  care  of  the  soil  will 
probably  pay  as  well  here  as  at  any  point  in  the  United 
States. 

Apples  are  the  principal  fruit  crop  of  the  state.  There  is 
a  yearly  increasing  number  of  trees.  In  one  of  the  valley 
counties  a  seventeen-year-old  orchard  of  1150  trees  pro- 
duced an  apple  crop  as  far  back  as  1905  which  brought  the 
owner  $10,000,  another  of  fifty  twenty-year-old  trees  brought 
$700.  Mr.  H.  E.  Vandeman,  one  of  the  best-known  horti- 
culturists in  the  country,  says  that  there  is  not  in  all  North 
America  a  better  place  to  plant  orchards  than  in  Virginia; 
on  account  of  its  "rich  apple  soil,  good  flavor  and  keeping 
qualities  of  the  fruit,  and  nearness  to  the  great  markets  of 
the  East  and  Europe." 

The  trees  attain  a  fine  size  and  live  to  a  good  old  age,  and 
produce  abundantly.  In  Patrick  County  there  is  a  tree  nine 
feet  five  inches  around  which  has  borne  110  bushels  of  apples 
at  a  single  crop ;  other  trees  have  borne  even  more.  One 
farmer  in  Albemarle  County  has  received  more  than  $15,000 
for  a  single  crop  of  Albemarle  Pippins  grown  on  twenty 
acres  of  land.  This  pippin  is  considered  the  most  delicious 
apple  in  the  world. 

The  fig,  pomegranate,  and  other  delicate  fruits  flourish 
in  the  Tidewater  region. 

New  England,  from  Maine  to  Rhode  Island,  is  suffering 
from  one  disease  —  lack  of  intelligent  labor.  Thirty 
years  ago  the  sons  and  daughters  who,  in  the  natural  course 
of  events,  would  have  stayed  to  cultivate  the  home  acres, 
left  to  form  a  part  of  the  westward  throng  making  for  the 
level,  untouched  prairies  of  Illinois  and  Iowa. 

The  old  folks  have  died  or  become  incapacitated.  New 
interests  chain  their  children  to  adopted  homes.  Result, 


WHERE  TO  GO  181 

—  unoccupied    lands    by    the    hundred    thousand    acres, 
awaiting  energy,  skill,  and  faith. 

Ten  dollars  an  acre  is  a  common  price  for  the  rocky  hills 
of  New  England.  The  choice  river  bottoms,  and  land  near 
the  larger  cities  is  as  high  priced  as  similar  land  anywhere 
else.  Intending  settlers  can  buy  small  areas  for  little  money ; 
usually  the  smallest  farms  have  good  buildings  worth  in 
many  cases  more  than  the  price  asked  for  the  whole  farm. 
Climatic  conditions  are  not  favorable  to  single  cropping. 
In  the  old  days  general  farming,  grain,  beef,  sheep,  and  hogs 
were  the  rule;  nowadays,  special  crops,  dairying,  fruit 
growing,  etc. 

Tobacco  is  the  great  staple  in  the  rich  Connecticut  River 
bottoms,  and  even  on  the  uplands,  if  properly  manured,  it 
pays  from  one  to  three  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  Tobacco 
can  be  raised  on  small  areas  far  from  the  railroad,  as,  when 
properly  cured  and  packed  for  shipment,  it  is  not  perishable. 
To  many  the  worst  feature  of  New  England  is  the  climate 

—  long,   cold  winters  and  short  summers.    Maine  being 
farthest  north  suffers  most  in  this  respect,  but  that  does 
not  prevent  her  producing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons 
of  sweet  corn  for  canning  and  vast  quantities  of  eggs  and 
butter.    Fruit  does  well  on  the  lower  coast ;  a  small  orchard 
of  peaches  or  plums  will  in  three  or  four  years  from  planting 
make  a  comfortable  living.    Bush  fruits  grow  in  abundance 
and  give  never-failing  crops. 

Poultry  is  peculiarly  successful  on  the  rocky  hills,  because 
they  are  nearly  always  dry  or  well  drained.  Dairying  can 
be  made  to  pay  if  near  a  creamery,  or  where  milk  can  be 
sold  at  retail.  The  prospective  settler  here  should  bear  in 
mind  that  wherever  he  goes,  the  first  year  will  produce 
little  more  than  a  kitchen  garden;  the  second  enable  him 


182  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

barely  to  pull  through,  and  the  third  give  him  a  start  at  a 
permanent  income.  In  farming,  as  in  all  other  businesses, 
only  those  will  succeed  who  know  what  they  want  and  how 
to  get  it;  who  have  selected  with  care  the  locality  best 
suited  to  the  special  crops  they  intend  to  raise;  and  after 
having  once  made  a  selection,  stick  until  they  have  com- 
pelled success. 

The  lure  of  the  vast  West  and  of  the  new  South  is  not 
forgotten;  but  the  time  has  passed  when  the  young  man 
could  go  West  to  take  a  farm  of  Uncle  Sam's.  Desirable 
land  is  too  expensive  for  the  pioneer,  and  the  constant  toil 
and  comparative  isolation  of  the  prairie  farm  offers  but  a 
poor  sort  of  liberty,  though  it  still  affords  a  living. 

But  close  to  the  growing  towns  in  those  states  small  plots 
of  land  can  still  be  had  to  work  with  the  same  bright  pros- 
pects that  are  offered  near  the  great  metropolis. 

In  nearly  all  the  sections  within  the  area  of  intensive  cul- 
tivation, timber  is  still  plentiful  enough  to  make  it  the  cheap- 
est building  material ;  and  persons  who  really  want  to  get  to 
the  land  can  contrive  a  sufficient  shelter,  like  a  pioneer's, 
for  from  two  to  five  hundred  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CLEARING  THE  LAND 

IT  is  pretty  good  fun  to  hack  at  bushes  and  to  chop  trees 
down  and  then  to  chop  them  up.  If  there  is  only  a  small 
part  of  the  land  to  be  cleared,  a  man  can  easily  learn  skill 
with  the  ax  and  do  it  at  odd  times,  but  he  was  a  wise  old 
man  of  whom  his  little  girl  said,  "  When  grandpa  wants  any- 
thing, that  moment  he  wants  it."  It  is  now  that  we  need 
the  land ;  but  even  if  it  is  covered  with  trees,  there  is  no 
cause  for  discouragement.  Lumber  is  so  high  that  the 
local  or  portable  sawmill  men  will  buy  the  timber  by  the 
acre.  They  will  cut  the  trees  and  haul  the  logs. 

If  you  decide  to  cut  a  tree  yourself,  a  little  inquiry  will 
show  for  what  purpose  it  will  bring  the  highest  price.  Lo- 
cust sticks,  for  example,  four  to  six  inches  thick,  will  bring 
in  New  York  ten  or  fifteen  cents  a  running  foot  for  insulator 
pinions.  If  a  maple  proves  to  be  either  "curly"  or  "bird's- 
eye"  (this  depending  not  on  the  variety,  but  on  the  acci- 
dental undulations  of  the  fiber),  it  will  be  in  demand  for  the 
manufacture  of  furniture. 

Sugar  maples  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high  can  be  transplanted 
or  sold.  Nut  and  fruit  trees  will  nearly  always  be  worth 
keeping. 

Cedar  sticks  fourteen  feet  long  will  bring  twenty  cents  in 
most  places  for  hop  and  bean  poles.  See  what  can  be  sold 
instead  of  burned,  and  don't  cut  down  recklessly ;  an  unsal- 

183 


184  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

able  tree  may  be  valuable  as  a  windbreak  or  as  shade  for 
your  house.  The  wrong  tree  for  shade  is  the  dense  foliaged, 
low-branched  tree  which  forms  a  solid  dome  from  the  ground 
up.  The  right  tree,  in  the  opinion  of  Henry  Hicks  (in  Country 
Life  in  America),  is  the  American  elm,  which  ought  to  be 
called  the  umbrella  tree.  Pliny  speaks  of  the  plane  tree, 
our  sycamore  or  buttonwood,  as  excellent,  because  of  the 
horizontal  branches  which,  like  window  blinds,  allow  free 
passage  of  the  breezes  while  intercepting  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

The  ideal  shade  tree  is  a  canopy  like  a  parasol  over  the 
house,  with  high,  leafy  branches  that  do  not  shut  off  light 
and  air  from  the  windows.  This  cools  a  house  by  keeping 
the  sun  off  and  cools  the  air  by  the  rapid  evaporation  from  its 
leaves,  and  will  make  it  ten  to  fifteen  degrees  cooler  in  sum- 
mer. It  will  be  cheaper  and  more  effective  than  a  com- 
bination of  awnings,  piazza,  and  eaves.  Woodman,  spare 
that  tree. 

Stumps  may  be  burned  out  To  get  a  good  draught, 
bore  a  hole  in  a  slanting  direction  far  down  among  the  roots. 
The  smoke  goes  through  the  hole  first  and  then  the  flame, 
boring  the  body  to  the  roots  deep  enough  to  plow.  Land 
can  also  be  cleared  by  dynamite.  We  condense  from  Edith 
Loring  Fullerton  in  Farming  on  what  has  been  done. 

To  go  into  the  desolate,  uncultivated,  burned  over  "  waste 
lands"  near  a  great  city  and  put  ten  acres  under  cultivation 
in  the  shortest  possible  space  of  time  was  our  problem.  We 
undertook  it  at  short  notice  in  an  uncertain  season  —  the 
autumn  —  with  the  determination  to  get  at  least  a  portion 
of  the  land  seeded  down  to  winter  rye  before  cold  weather 
prohibited  further  work. 

United  to  this  problem  was  that  of  working  a  small  farm 
to  its  utmost  capacity  rather  than  half  cultivation  of  a 


CLEARING  THE  LAND  185 

large  one,  which  is  difficult  to  handle  from  lack  of  time 
and  labor  and  an  unwise  proposition  for  the  East  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances. 

Ten  acres  of  scraggy-looking  woodland  was  purchased, 
sixty-eight  miles  from  New  York  City  on  the  north  shore  of 
Long  Island.  The  plot  had  a  few  second  and  third  growth 
oak  and  chestnut  trees  and  "sprouts"  along  the  borders. 
All  else  had  been  burned,  and  the  center  of  the  acreage 
exhibited  the  mangled  and  blackened  remains  of  a  once 
thrifty  woodland. 

We  proceeded  to  choose  as  our  helpers  native  Long  Is- 
landers whom  we  were  desirous  of  allowing  to  work.  We 
succeeded  by  strenuous  efforts  in  getting  together  a  "gang" 
of  both  colored  and  white  men  to  the  stupendous  number 
of  eight.  They  fell  to  work  with  a  right  good  will,  at  first 
cutting  down  here  and  trimming  up  there  as  directed.  How- 
ever, after  giving  them  a  fair  trial,  we  decided  that  they 
must  be  replaced  by  Italians.  The  question  of  housing  the 
eighteen  Italians  soon  came  up.  Tents  might  be  adopted 
or  even  the  unsanitary  "dugout"  be  allowed  to  mar  the 
landscape.  A  shanty  was  entirely  too  ugly  to  suit  our  tastes, 
and  also  expensive,  and  useless  when  the  men  were  through 
with  it.  Tents  were  too  airy,  as  we  knew  the  work  would 
continue  until  freezing  weather,  and  perhaps  well  into  the 
winter.  We  "passed"  on  the  "dugout."  The  ideal  was 
something  that  would  be  of  use  after  the  work  of  clearing 
was  completed,  and  for  that  purpose  we  decided  upon  "  con- 
demned" freight  cars.  They  cost  but  ten  dollars  each,  the 
railroad  being  glad  to  get  rid  of  them.  We  bought  two, 
ultimately  using  one  for  a  chicken  house  and  the  other  as  a 
barn.  In  the  meantime  it  was  decided  to  remove  the  stumps 
by  dynamite,  as  trying  to  yank  them  out  by  stump  pullers 


186  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

or  by  mattock  and  plow  was  both  slow  and  brutal.  The 
ordinary  custom  of  allowing  nature  to  work  six  years  at  the 
stumps  and  gradually  eliminate  them  by  decay  was  not  to 
be  thought  of. 

Dynamiter  Kissam,  a  Long  Island  expert,  arrived  and 
set  to  work,  using  fuses  for  small  stumps  up  to  two  feet  in 
diameter. 

With  the  advent  of  the  Italians  work  began  in  earnest; 
they  cleared  out  every  useless  tree,  cutting  cord  wood  where 
any  could  be  obtained  and  burning  the  branches  and  charred 
trees  as  they  went.  They  also  cleared  out  all  underbrush 
thoroughly. 

The  dynamiter  with  his  helper  followed  them  up.  This 
is  the  most  exciting  and  interesting  part  of  clearing  land  by 
modern  methods. 

The  dynamite  is  put  up  in  half-pound  sticks.  They  are 
a  little  larger  than  an  ordinary  candle  and  are  wrapped  in 
heavy  yellow  paraffined  paper.  One  folded  end  of  this 
paper  is  opened  up  and  a  hole  made  by  a  wooden  skewer  into 
the  dynamite  stick,  which  is  plastic  and  resembles  graham 
bread  in  color  and  consistency. 

For  magneto-battery  work  where  several  charges  are  re- 
quired, a  copper  cap  in  which  is  a  minute  quantity  of  ful- 
minate of  mercury,  and  which  is  exploded  by  a  spark,  is  at- 
tached to  fine  electric  wires  and  sealed  by  sulphur.  This 
cap  is  placed  in  holes  in  the  sticks  of  dynamite,  and  then 
securely  tied  by  drawing  string  tightly  around  the  paper 
which  is  raised  to  admit  the  cap. 

In  preparing  a  charge  for  fuse  ignition,  the  cap  is  crimped 
to  the  end  of  a  piece  of  mining  fuse  and  this  is  inserted 
in  the  dynamite  stick  and  securely  fastened  as  previously 
described. 


CLEARING  THE  LAND  187 

These  prepared  charges  are  placed  in  a  basket  and  carried 
very  tenderly  to  the  stumps  which  have  been  prepared  by 
the  dynamiter's  assistant.  All  the  work  is  handled  very 
carefully,  for  while  there  is  not  much  danger  of  an  accident 
unless  fire  is  placed  near  the  explosive,  nevertheless  ex- 
treme caution  is  used  at  all  tunes.  It  requires  a  nature 
serene,  calm,  and  deliberate. 

Deep  oblique  holes  were  then  made  with  a  round  crowbar 
under  the  stump  singled  out  for  execution.  This  hole  should 
be  as  nearly  horizontal  as  possible  and  directly  under  the 
stump  so  that  all  the  explosive  force  may  be,  expended 
on  the  wood  and  not  on  the  earth  between  the  dynamite 
and  the  stump.  The  earth  acts  as  a  cushion  and  the  natu- 
ral tendency  of  dynamite  to  exert  force  downward  is  coun- 
teracted. 

As  soon  as  a  small  strip  was  blown,  the  Italians,  gathering 
up  all  the  stumps,  roots,  and  fragments,  removing  any  pieces 
that  were  loosened  but  not  completely  torn  out,  and  piling 
them  at  intervals,  immediately  burned  them.  This  cannot 
be  done  when  stumps  are  removed  by  any  other  method,  for 
by  the  digging  process  the  earth  must  be  picked  and  scraped 
from  them  and  ultimately  the  stump  hacked  in  pieces  before 
it  will  burn. 

By  our  method  the  stump  is  burned  and  the  finest  kind  of 
unleached  wood  ashes  —  containing  lime  to  "sweeten"  and 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid  to  furnish  plant  food  —  are 
spread  upon  the  ground  a  few  hours  after  the  stumps  are 
blown  out.  These  ashes  would  under  other  circumstances 
have  to  be  purchased  at  a  cost  of  perhaps  two  dollars  a 
barrel,  and  as  five  barrels  at  least  to  the  acre  are  required 
for  good  fertilization,  these  ashes  gave  us  the  first  credit 
upon  the  books. 


188  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Following  the  burners  came  the  manure  spreaders;  five 
carloads  of  manure  had  been  purchased  and  was  delivered 
before  it  was  needed.  When  the  manure  was  spread  upon 
the  land  (one  half  carload  to  the  acre),  the  plow  started  its 
work  smoothly  and  with  none  of  the  strain  and  jerk  on  man 
and  beast  usual  in  new  land.  The  soil  was  turned  over 
with  the  greatest  ease,  for  the  explosions  had  shivered  and 
torn  out  even  the  smallest  roots,  so  the  plow  ran  through 
the  ground  much  more  easily  than  in  sod  land. 

Our  friable,  sandy  loam,  with  a  light  admixture  of  clay, 
pulverized  and  aerated  by  the  explosions,  was  in  market 
garden  condition  at  once  and  without  the  year's  loss  of 
crops  assured  by  old  methods. 

A  tooth  harrow  was  next  run  over  the  plowed  section, 
and  gleaners  followed  the  harrow,  picking  up  the  fine  roots 
as  they  were  brought  to  the  surface.  As  piles  of  these  fine 
roots  grew,  they  were  burned  and  the  ashes  immediately 
spread  upon  the  land.  The  tooth  harrow  was  run  again 
across  the  rows,  the  disk  harrow  following  chopped  and  pul- 
verized the  earth  into  the  finest  possible  condition.  Thirty- 
five  and  one  half  working  days  after  Larry  and  his  gang 
arrived,  rye  was  drilled  into  three  and  one  half  acres. 

The  condemned  freight  cars  were  placed  upon  skids  and 
drawn  to  the  desired  position  over  soaped  planks.  They 
were  raised  from  the  ground  to  give  good  under  ventilation. 
The  north  and  east  sides  are  filled  or  banked  up  with  sand 
which  came  out  of  the  well.  This  keeps  out  the  cold  winds, 
and,  in  the  case  of  the  chicken-house  car,  allows  the  fowls  a 
shaded  shelter  on  hot  summer  days. 

The  chicken-house  car  was  placed  facing  the  southeast. 
The  western  end  has  a  large  glazed  sash  placed  on  it,  and 
two  in  the  southern  side.  One  half  the  car  was  partitioned 


CLEARING  THE  LAND  189 

off  for  roosting  quarters,  while  the  other  half  serves  as  a 
laying  and  scratching  house.  This  farm  keeps  only  a  few 
chickens  for  family  use. 

The  artesian  well  was  started  in  October.  The  well  was, 
naturally,  a  necessity,  but  there  was  much  to  be  considered 
in  regard  to  the  method  of  pumping.  Under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances a  windmill  would  do,  and  is  generally  a  good 
auxiliary;  a  ten-foot  iron  tower  and  a  ten-foot  fan  wheel 
cost  about  fifty  dollars,  but  our  farm  is  not  to  be  allowed  to 
be  a  failure  for  lack  of  water  in  a  dry  season.  In  case  of 
drought  (and  every  summer  brings  one  of  greater  or  less 
duration)  water  must  be  on  hand,  and  as  a  drought  usually 
is  accompanied  by  windless  weather,  the  windmill  could  not 
be  depended  upon.  An  engine  was  obviously  necessary. 
Both  gasoline  and  kerosene  engines  were  closely  investi- 
gated, with  the  result  that  a  kerosene  oil  engine  was  decided 
upon.  (The  new  style  of  heavy  oil  engine  is  better  and 
cheaper  to  run.  Ed.)  An  advantage  of  the  engine  over  a 
windmill  is  that  it  will  furnish  power  for  cutting  wood, 
grinding  grain,  or  lighting  the  buildings,  a  two  and  one- 
half  horsepower  engine  running  twenty-five  16  c.p.  lights 
easily. 

The  rye  was  turned  under  green  in  the  spring  to  furnish 
humus,  the  greatest  and  only  vital  need  of  this  particular 
spot  of  virgin  soil. 

Since  that  was  written  an  excellent  and  cheap  stump 
puller  has  been  introduced,  but  the  account  of  work  is 
still  typical.  Dynamiting  is  still  the  modern  way  to  clear 
land  as  well  as  to  break  up  a  stiff  subsoil  or  hardpan,  so  as 
to  loosen  the  earth  to  let  deep  roots  like  trees  or  alfalfa  go 
down  and  to  secure  drainage. 

Primitive  American  man  regarded  trees  as  "lumber"  in- 


190  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

stead  of  as  timber  and  still  destroys  countless  millions  in 
valuable  wood  as  he  "clears  the  ground." 

After  it  is  cleared,  it  is  vital  to  keep  it  cleared  of  weeds, 
which  are  worse  garroters  of  crops  than  trees.  To  do  that 
we  don't  need  to  bow  to  the  Earth,  nor  to  hammer  her  with 
a  hand  hoe. 

"The  Man  with  the  Hoe"  began  to  be  a  back  number 
when  Arkwright  invented  the  ark  or  the  mule  or  whatever 
he  did  invent.  The  man  with  the  wheel  hoe  is  the  man  that 
is  "  It."  A  wheel  hoe  costs  from  $6  to  $12,  and  will  do  the 
work  of  several  men  without  breaking  the  heart  or  even 
the  back  of  one  of  them.  It  has  as  many  attachments  as  a 
summer  girl  and  is  equally  versatile.  It  must  be  run  be- 
tween the  rows  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  dry  after  every 
rain,  so  as  to  slay  the  weeds  before  they  are  born.  If  you 
don't  they  will  slay  your  profits,  if  not  yourself. 

Crops  grown  on  that  experimental  farm  are :  Asparagus, 
berries,  beans,  beets,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  celery,  carrots, 
cucumbers,  corn,  eggplant,  endive,  fruit  trees,  kale,  kohl- 
rabi, lettuce,  limas,  melons,  martynias,  onions,  okra,  parsley, 
parsnips,  peas,  potatoes  (sweet  and  white),  pumpkins, 
radishes,  rhubarb,  salsify,  squash,  tomatoes,  etc.  Marketed 
strictly  choice  radishes  May  18,  peas  June  10,  lettuce 
June  21,  beans  June  29,  beets  July  8,  carrots  July  10, 
cabbage  July  11.  Surely  a  rapid  result. 

Hemp  is  hardly  worth  your  growing  for  itself  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances ;  the  returns  per  acre  are  not  sufficient. 
But  Charles  Richard  Dodge,  in  one  of  the  United  States 
Yearbooks  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  says  that  as 
a  weed  killer  it  has  practically  no  equal. 

In  proof  of  this,  a  North  River  farmer  stated  that  thistles 
heretofore  had  mastered  him  in  a  certain  field,  but  after 


CLEARING  THE  LAND  191 

sowing  it  with  hemp  not  a  thistle  survived;  and  while 
ridding  the  land  of  this  pest,  the  hemp  yielded  him  nearly 
sixty  dollars  an  acre,  where  previously  nothing  valuable 
could  be  produced. 

As  it  grows  from  Minnesota  to  the  Mississippi  Delta,  its 
value  for  this  purpose  is  considerable. 

But  there  is  a  way  easier  and  cheaper  of  clearing  land 
than  by  blasting,  if  we  can  afford  to  wait  a  little ;  and  Mr. 
George  Fayette  Thompson,  in  Bulletin  No.  27,  Bureau  of 
Animal  Industry,  tells  us  how,  giving  some  interesting  facts 
about  Angora  goats,  of  which  the  following  is  a  condensation : 

To  people  taking  up  raw  land,  particularly  where  there  is 
a  heavy  undergrowth  to  be  cleared  away,  goats  of  some 
kind  are  an  invaluable  aid.  In  its  browsing  qualities  the 
common  goat  is  as  good  as  any,  but,  aside  from  the  clearing 
of  the  land,  the  profit  in  his  keep  is  very  little,  though  some 
demand  is  growing  up  for  goat's  milk  for  infants  and  for 
some  fancy  cheeses.  A  much  better  animal  from  the  stand- 
point of  profit,  while  in  use  as  a  scavenger,  is  the  Angora 
goat.  Their  long,  silky  hair  has  been  used  for  centuries  in 
making  blankets,  lap  robes,  rugs,  carpets,  and  particularly 
the  "cashmere"  shawls,  formerly  a  great  luxury  in  this 
country.  Much  of  the  camel's  hair  dress  goods  is  in  reality 
made  from  the  hah-  of  the  Angora  goat,  or  mohair,  as  it  is 
called.  Angora  goats  thrive  best  in  high  altitudes  with  dry 
climates.  They  exist  in  greatest  number  in  the  United  States 
in  California,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas.  They  have  been 
used  successfully  in  the  Willamette  Valley  of  Oregon  to  eat 
the  underbrush  off  the  land,  doing  for  nothing  that  for 
which  the  farmers  pay  Chinese  laborers  twenty-five  to  forty 
dollars  per  acre.  The  cost  of  Angora  goats  is  about  ten  to 
thirty  dollars  each  for  does,  with  bucks  at  fifty  to  two  hun- 


192  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

dred  dollars,  so  that  even  with  a  small  area  of  land  to  clear 
it  would  pay  to  buy  a  little  flock  for  that  purpose.  Dr. 
Shandley,  of  Iowa,  says  that  two  to  three  goats  to  the  acre 
is  sufficient  for  cleaning  up  land,  and  that  in  two  years  the 
goats  will  eat  all  of  the  underbrush  from  woodland,  such  as 
briers,  thistles,  scrub  oak,  sumac,  and,  in  fact,  any  shrub 
undergrowth.  They  need  no  other  food  than  what  they  can 
secure  from  the  woods  themselves.  Consequently,  the  in- 
come from  the  sale  of  mohair  is  nearly  net. 

The  more  nearly  thoroughbred  the  goats  are,  the  better 
the  mohair  and  the  higher  the  price.  The  meat  of  the  An- 
gora goat  is  superior  to  mutton,  although  if  sold  in  the  market 
under  the  name  of  goat  meat,  it  commands  only  half  the  price 
of  mutton. 

As  an  example  of  the  Angora's  utility  in  cleaning  up  land, 
the  Country  Gentleman  says:  "Mr.  Landrum  exhibited  ten 
head  at  the  Oregon  State  Fair.  In  order  to  demonstrate 
their  effectiveness  as  substitutes  for  grubbing,  he  left  them 
on  three  acres  of  brush.  At  the  end  of  the  second  year  the 
land  was  mellow  and  ready  for  the  plow." 

It  might  be  possible  to  build  up  a  business  in  clearing  lands 
for  others  by  means  of  a  herd  of  Angoras. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

HOW  TO  BUILD 

IF  you  find  an  "abandoned  farm"  on  which  the  buildings 
are  worth  more  than  the  whole  price  asked,  as  frequently 
happens,  you  are  all  right.  Even  if  the  buildings  are  some- 
what dilapidated,  you  can  fix  them  up  for  a  few  dollars. 
But  in  buying  small  plots  of  ground,  larger  farms  have  to 
be  broken  up.  If  you  buy  from  the  resident  owner,  he  may 
sell  you  five  acres  off"  his  larger  tract,  and  keep  his  house 
to  live  in.  Certain  it  is  that  if  a  farm  of  100  acres  is  sub- 
divided into  twenty  five-acre  farms,  at  least  nineteen  new 
houses  must  be  built,  although  sometimes  an  old  barn  can 
be  made  into  a  fair  residence. 

If  you  can  do  no  better,  it  is  possible  to  start  by  tenting. 
An  outfit  large  enough  for  a  family  of  six  would  be  about  as 

follows : 

1  wall  tent  with  fly,  10  X  14,  for  sleeping 
1  wall  tent  with  fly,  10  X  14,  for  dining 

1  old  cook  stove  (to  be  erected  outdoors) 

2  floors,  10  X  14,  at  $5  each 

Brown  tents,  at  least  for  the  sleeping  rooms,  are  best; 
they  last  longer,  are  cooler,  and  do  not  attract  the  flies; 
though  indeed  we  need  not  have  house  flies  if  we  keep  the 
horse  manure  covered  up  —  they  are  all  bred  in  that.  If 
the  tents  are  in  the  shade,  the  cost  of  the  cover  or  fly  can 
be  saved  in  the  dining  tent ;  but  it  is  necessary  in  the  living 
tent,  because  wet  canvas  will  leak  when  touched  on  the  inside, 
o  193 


194  THREE ;  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

To  make  the  tent  warm  for  the  winter,  we  must  bank  up 
to  the  edges  of  the  platform  with  earth  and  cover  the  whole 
with  another  tent  of  the  same  shape,  but  a  foot  larger  in 
every  dimension.  These  are  commonly  used  in  Montana. 

It  is  to  be  presumed  that  no  one  would  attempt  moving 
in  without  household  utensils,  which  may  be  as  simple  or 
elaborate  as  you  please.  If  there  is  a  sawmill  in  the  vicinity, 
a  temporary  shack  for  winter,  say  22  X  30  feet,  could  be  built 
for  from  $400  to  $600,  depending  on  the  interior  finish. 
Partitions  can  be  made  very  cheap  by  erecting  panels  covered 
with  canvas,  burlap,  old  carpet,  etc.  Such  a  building  does 
not  need  to  be  plastered,  but  can  be  made  warm  enough  by 
an  inside  covering  of  burlap,  heavy  builders'  paper,  or  com- 
position board.  Tar  paper  laid  over  solid  sheeting  makes  a 
roof  that  will  last  for  two  or  three  years.  For  such  a  shack 
draw  the  plans  yourself.  All  you  really  need  is  a  living 
room,  bedroom,  and  kitchen. 

A  cheap  and  effective  water  supply  can  be  gotten  from  a 
driven  well,  which  in  most  places  costs  about  one  dollar  per 
foot.  Have  it  where  the  kitchen  is  to  be,  so  that  the  water 
can  be  pumped  into  a  barrel  or  other  tank  over  the  stove. 
With  a  good  range  you  can  have  as  good  a  supply  of  hot  and 
cold  water  as  you  had  in  the  city. 

If  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  piece  of  land  with  a  good  spring 
on  it,  you  can  lay  pipes  and  draw  the  water  from  that.  If 
you  can  get  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  fall  from  the  spring  to  the 
kitchen,  you  don't  need  a  pump  at  all. 

For  a  toilet  closet,  build  a  shed  four  feet  wide,  six  feet 
long,  and  eight  feet  high.  Use  a  movable  pail  or  box.  Lime 
slaked  or  unslaked  or  dry  dust  or  ashes  must  be  scattered 
every  time  the  closet  is  used.  Always  clean  before  it  shows 
signs  of  becoming  offensive :  keep  it  covered  fly  tight  and 


HOW  TO  BUILD  195 

mix  the  contents  with  earth  or  litter,  and  scatter  on  the 
garden. 

A  shack  can  ' '  built  of  logs  which  will  do  for  comfort  and 
will  look  dignified. 

Horace  L.  Pike,  in  Country  Life  in  America,  says :  "  The 
lot  on  which  we  meant  to  build  our  log  house  stood  thirty- 
five  feet  above  the  lake.  The  problem  was  how  to  build  a 
cabin  roomy,  picturesque,  inexpensive,  and  all  on  the  ground. 

"The  ground  dimensions  are  thirty-two  by  thirty  feet  out- 
side. This  gives  a  living  room  sixteen  by  fourteen;  bed- 
rooms twelve  by  twelve,  twelve  by  ten,  and  nine  by  seven ; 
kitchen  eleven  by  nine;  a  five-  by  four-foot  corner  for  a 
pantry  and  refrigerator ;  closet  four  by  six,  front  porch  six- 
teen by  six  feet  six  inches,  and  rear  porch  five  by  five  —  705 
square  feet  of  inside  floor  space  and  130  square  feet  of  porch. 

"A  dozen  pine  trees  stand  on  the  lot,  and  maneuvering 
was  required  to  set  a  cottage  among  them  without  the  crime 
of  cutting  one.  The  front  received  the  salutes  of  a  leaning 
oak,  the  life  of  which  was  saved  by  the  sacrifice  of  six  inches 
from  the  porch  eaves,  the  trunk  forming  a  newel  post  for  the 
step  railing. 

"We  closed  the  contract  immediately  for  120  Norway 
or  red  pine  logs,  thirty  feet  long  and  eight  by  ten  inches 
diameter  at  butts.  The  price  was  low  —  one  or  two  dollars 
their  like  should  have  brought.  We  used,  however,  only 
eighty-one  logs;  forty  thirty-foot,  fourteen  eighteen-foot, 
thirteen  sixteen-foot,  and  fourteen  fourteen-foot. 

"Work  was  begun  on  April  22.  Two  days  sufficed  for 
the  owner  and  one  man  to  clear  and  level  the  ground,  dig 
post  holes,  set  posts,  and  square  the  foundation.  The  soil 
was  light  sand  with  a  clay  hardpan  three  feet  down. 

"Twenty-seven  days  each  were  put  in  by  two  men  from 


196  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

start  to  finish,  with  assistance  rendered  by  the  owner.  There 
were  seven  days  by  the  mason,  eight  by  carpenters,  and  four- 
teen and  one  half  by  other  labor.  On  June  4  the  cabin 
was  ready  for  occupancy,  and  the  family  moved  in.  The 
prices,  as  in  most  cases  cited,  are  higher  to-day.  Cheaper 
transportation  or  lower  tariff  may  reduce  them  again. 

"Making  allowances  for  increased  cost  of  logs  and  differ- 
ences in  any  of  the  material  cost,  this  cabin  can  be  duplicated 
for  less  than  $700  by  any  one  who  has  the  ground,  a  few  tools, 
and  some  building  ability.  It  is  compact,  convenient,  and 
more  roomy  than  a  superficial  glance  reveals,  and  it  can  be 
occupied  (slight  care  is  required)  from  April  to  November 
with  only  the  kitchen  stove  and  the  fireplace  supplying  the 
heat.  The  same  plan  can  be  used  for  an  all-frame  struc- 
ture, perhaps  at  less  cost.  It  could  be  sheathed  and  slab 
covered  in  a  locality  where  slabs,  edged  to  six  or  eight  inches 
wide,  could  be  had ;  or  slabs  could  be  used  perpendicularly 
in  the  gable  ends  and  on  the  outside  of  the  rear  extension." 

We  must  not  overlook  the  differences  in  cost  of  lumber 
and  labor  in  different  places,  sometimes  more  than  doubling, 
nor  the  fact  that  different  contractors  will  vary  often  twenty- 
five  per  cent  in  their  bids. 

A  mere  cabin,  like  a  wooden  tent,  12  X  10  with  a  plat- 
form adjoining,  will  accommodate  one  or  even  two  persons 
and  can  be  built  by  a  contractor  even  at  war  prices  for 
about  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars.  This  will  serve  for  a 
tool  house  or  storeroom  when  a  more  convenient  residence 
can  be  afforded.  A  number  of  such  can  be  seen  at  "  Free 
Acres,"  New  Jersey,  an  hour  from  New  York  City  on  the 
D.  L.  &  W.  Railroad. 

Thoughtful  provision  and  planning  will  go  far  to  reduce 
costs.  A  stove  pipe  which  should  run  up  inside  the  house, 


HOW  TO  BUILD  197 

not  outside,  so  as  to  conserve  heat  and  fuel,  serves  as  chimney 
and  fireplace.  A  Franklin  stove,  practically  an  open  fire- 
place set  out  entirely  inside  the  house,  is  a  practical  device, 
though  it  costs  from  $18  to  $30.  It  gives  a  cheerful  open 
fire  to  burn  wood  or  coal  and  has  a  flat  top  to  keep  things 
hot,  a  dutch  oven  of  sheet  iron,  and  a  hob  can  be  attached 
to  the  front  of  the  grate. 

But  remember  that  though  you  may  have  trees  or  fallen 
wood  for  the  cutting  it  takes  a  lot  of  time  to  cut  it.  A 
cylindrical  self-feeding  coal  burner  is  most  economical  for 
heating  and  a  lined  sheet  iron  cooking  stove  for  the  kitchen. 

A  fireless  cooker,  which  retains  the  heat  all  day  by  means 
of  soapstone  or  insulation  and  slowly  cooks  the  food  without 
losing  the  juices,  is  an  economical  device.  It  can  be  made 
at  home  by  copying  what  you  see  in  the  stores  or  by  getting 
directions  from  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Don't  forget  double  windows  at  least  toward  the  north; 
and  on  all  windows  have  heavy  holland  shades  which  make 
an  air  space  between  the  cold  windowpanes  and  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  room. 

Portable  houses  sound  attractive,  but  they  do  not  pay 
unless  you  will  need  to  move  them.  Manifestly  it  costs 
more  to  make  a  house  like  a  trunk  than  like  a  shed.  The 
houses  shipped  ready  made  of  the  "Aladdin"  type,  with  all 
the  parts  ready  marked  to  be  nailed  together  by  unskilled 
labor  are  a  much  better  investment  and  are  not  shaky. 

It  is  true  that  living  is  expensive  in  the  train  suburbs, 
when  almost  all  that  is  eaten  comes  from  the  city,  with 
freight  and  monopoly  rates  added.  But  one  can  raise  most 
of  what  the  family  eats,  and  save  besides  in  car  fares  and 
doctor's  bills. 

The  rent,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  the  income,  that  was  paid 


198  THREE  ACRES   AND  LIBERTY 

for  a  place  so  small  that  the  cat  had  to  jump  on  a  chair  when 
the  baby  sat  down,  will  be  a  clear  gain. 

Mrs.  Warrington's  cottage  at  Rose  Valley,  Pennsylvania, 
forms  a  very  interesting  subject,  and  is  built  from  designs 
of  well-known  architects  of  Philadelphia,  who  have  taken  up 
building  small,  inexpensive  modern  houses  in  a  practical 
manner.  The  house  is  built  with  a  stone  foundation  and 
a  wooden  superstructure  with  exterior  walls  covered  with 
metal  lath  and  cement  stucco  which  is  stained  a  cream  color. 
The  trimmings  are  stained  a  soft  brown  and  the  sashes  are 
painted  white.  The  roof  is  covered  with  shingles,  and  is 
left  to  weather  finish.  The  front  porch,  from  which  a  ves- 
tibule leads  into  the  house,  has  a  hooded  cover  formed  by 
the  main  roof  sweeping  down  sufficiently  to  form  a  protec- 
tion. The  vestibule  forms  an  entrance  to  both  the  living 
room  and  the  kitchen ;  the  kitchen  is  at  the  front  of  the  house, 
allowing  the  main  rooms  and  a  private  porch  to  be  at  the 
south  side.  The  interior  throughout  is  trimmed  with  cypress 
and  stained  a  soft  brown.  The  second  floor  joists  are  ex- 
posed to  view  and  are  stained  in  a  similar  manner,  while  the 
ceiling  space  between  the  joists  is  plastered.  A  broad 
archway  separates  the  living  and  the  dining  rooms,  and  while 
it  forms  a  separation,  it  does  not  preclude  the  possibility, 
when  desired,  of  throwing  the  two  rooms  into  one  large 
apartment.  The  large,  open  fireplace  is  built  of  clinker 
brick,  and  its  facings  extend  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling; 
it  has  a  wooden  shelf  supported  on  corbeled  brackets.  A 
semi-boxed  stairway  rises  out  of  the  living  room  to  the  second 
floor.  There  are  three  bedrooms  with  good-sized  closets, 
and  a  bathroom  on  the  second  floor.  A  cellar,  under  the 
entire  house,  has  a  cemented  bottom,  and  contains  a  laun- 
dry. This  house  costs  about  $2000  complete. 


HOW  TO  BUILD  199 

Houses  built  of  cement  blocks  are  growing  in  favor. 
Cement  blocks  can  be  made  anywhere  by  unskilled  labor. 
All  that  is  needed  is  a  competent  foreman  to  direct  the  mak- 
ing and  seasoning  of  the  blocks  and  laying  them  in  the  walls. 

The  cost  of  concrete  compared  to  frame  or  brick  structures 
is,  if  anything,  all  things  considered,  in  favor  of  concrete. 
Houses  built  of  wood  are  likely  to  become  increasingly  ex- 
pensive because  of  the  deforesting  which  is  going  on  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States. 

There  are  abundant  books  of  plans  and  costs  published, 
showing  what  may  be  built,  and  several  responsible  publishers 
recklessly  offer  to  refund  the  cost  of  the  plans  if  the  expense 
of  building  the  house  exceeds  their  estimates. 

There  are  also  a  number  of  manufacturers  of  ready-made 
portable  houses,  running  in  cost  from  about  three  hundred 
dollars  for  four  rooms,  upward.  Some  of  these  are  adapted 
to  all-the-year-round  use  and  may  be  used  where  land  is  taken 
experimentally. 


CHAPTER  XX 

BACK  TO  THE  LAND 

"LiFE,  to  the  average  man,  means  hard,  anxious  work, 
with  disappointment  at  the  end,  whereas  it  ought  to  mean 
plenty  of  tune  for  books  and  talk.  There  is  something 
wrong  about  a  system  which  condemns  ninety-nine  hun- 
dredths  of  the  race  to  an  existence  as  bare  of  intellectual 
activity  and  enjoyment  as  that  of  a  horse,  and  with  the  added 
anxiety  concerning  the  next  month's  rent.  Is  there  no 
escape?  Through  years  of  hard  toil  I  suspected  that  there 
might  be  such  an  escape.  Now,  having  escaped,  I  am  sure 
of  it,  so  long  as  oatmeal  is  less  expensive  than  flour,  so  long 
as  the  fish  bite,  and  the  cabbage  grows,  I  shall  keep  out  of 
the  slavery  of  modern  city  existence,  and  live  in  God's  sun- 
shine." (Hubert,  "Liberty  and  a  Living.") 

The  wealthy  class  are  taking  up  farming  as  a  healthy  and 
beautifying  diversion,  and  we  may  expect  others  to  follow, 
as  it  certainly  promotes  happiness  and  adds  to  the  attractions 
of  those  who  adopt  it.  With  the  aids  which  science  has 
given,  a  farmer  can  now  make  good  profits  with  less  labor 
than  was  formerly  necessary  to  get  a  bare  living.  The 
amount  that  a  single  well-managed,  well-tilled  acre  will  pro- 
duce in  a  season  is  simply  incredible.  This  accounts  for  the 
increased  demand  for  farming  lands  wherever  they  are  to  be 
had  on  reasonable  terms.  The  wage  earners  are  learning 

200 


BACK  TO  THE  LAND  201 

this,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  a  little  time  when  manu- 
facturing plants  will  have  to  be  convenient  to  lands  where 
the  families  of  the  hands  can  have  a  small  tract  of  land  to 
cultivate.  This  requires  good  transportation  facilities  from 
the  homes  to  the  factories. 

Corporate  operation  has  been  a  great  aid  to  human  prog- 
ress. Organization  is  man's  orderly  way  of  following  the 
Divine  Plan  for  his  economic  salvation,  yet  the  farmer  has 
profited  less  by  organization  than  trades  unions.  Where 
farmers  have  organized  to  aid  each  other  to  buy  and  sell, 
they  have  gained  wonderfully,  but  a  beginning  in  this  direc- 
tion has  but  served  to  show  how  much  more  is  needed. 

To  the  individual  farmer  with  large  area  and  small  means, 
the  improvements  in  machinery  that  cheapen  his  produc- 
tion are  not  at  present  available.  The  discoveries  in  methods 
of  fertilization  of  the  soil  only  make  it  more  difficult  for  him 
to  earn  a  living  in  competition  with  those  whose  ample 
capital  increases  production  by  its  use.  Improvements  in 
fruits  and  vegetation,  by  hybridization  and  various  methods 
that  add  wealth  to  those  of  means,  only  add  to  the  troubles 
of  our  present  small  farmers. 

Hitherto  corporate  operation  has  been  mainly  for  the 
benefit  of  stockholders.  The  cases  where  those  whose  labor 
creates  dividends  get  more  than  wages  have  been  rare.  "  A 
living  wage"  has  been  the  ambition  of  labor  itself :  all  profit 
beyond  this  is  supposed  to  be  the  right  of  capital.  There  is 
with  some  persons  an  unconscious  reluctance  to  share  profits 
with  labor  lest  the  laborers  become  independent,  and  thus 
reduce  then*  number  to  an  extent  to  raise  the  labor  market, 
so  that  it  is  difficult  to  get  fair  consideration  of  any  business 
proposition  that  promises  better  conditions  for  the  producer 
or  independence  for  the  laborer.  This  is  undoubtedly  short- 


202  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

sighted,  as  the  higher  intelligence  of  the  people  who  have 
land  increases  production  and  gives  enlarged  opportunities 
for  the  profitable  employment  of  money.  However,  if  capi- 
talists persist  in  this  narrow  view,  the  money  of  the  people, 
when  they  learn  and  think,  can  be  applied  to  this  purpose, 
instead  of  being  deposited  in  savings  banks,  where  much  of 
it  is  used  in  increasing  the  wealth  of  those  who  already  have 
abundance. 

The  idea  of  "helping  others  to  help  themselves"  finds  a 
responsive  chord  in  the  hearts  of  many  wealthy  people. 
But  the  question  is,  how  can  all  be  helped?  No  business 
method  by  which  this  can  be  accomplished  has,  as  yet,  been 
practically  demonstrated. 

In  no  field  does  corporate  operation  promise  more  for  the 
betterment  of  human  conditions,  for  a  higher  standard  of 
morals  and  of  education,  or  great  certainty  of  profit  for  capi- 
tal, than  by  systematically  aiding  men  to  obtain  farms. 

Progress  proceeds  on  the  line  of  returns  for  expenditure. 
When  a  man's  economic  condition  permits,  his  first  thought 
is  to  give  his  children  an  education  and  a  better  chance  in 
life  than  he  had.  Those  who  extol  the  simple  life  as  the  ideal 
condition  of  happiness  do  not  mean  that  want  and  depriva- 
tion of  necessities  is  the  ideal  condition.  If  they  did,  they 
would  put  then*  children  in  that  condition  to  make  them 
happy.  Both  extremes  of  wealth  and  of  poverty  are  burdens 
and  retard  mental  and  moral  progress.  The  ideal  condition 
is  to  be  found  on  a  farm  where  the  land  is  paid  for  and  ample 
means  are  at  hand  to  supply  the  necessities  for  physical 
demands,  with  leisure  to  learn  and  enjoy  those  pleasures  of 
the  mind  which  come  with  knowledge  of  Nature's  laws,  and 
wisdom  to  live  in  harmony  with  them,  and  in  a  measure 
comprehend  the  purposes  of  creation. 


BACK  TO  THE  LAND  203 

Mr.  G.  W.  Smith,  founder  of  the  Hundred  Year  Club, 
suggests  that  there  is  an  opening  in  intensive  farming  for 
the  benevolent  but  canny  wealthy  who  are  interested  in  the 
soil  and  want  to  combine  philanthropy  and  percentage. 

His  plan  is  to  get  capital  to  secure  land  and  all  the  neces- 
sary means,  give  to  each  approved  applicant  perpetual  leases 
of  land  for  a  small  farm  and  a  lot  in  a  village  site  convenient 
thereto,  with  a  house  merely  sufficient  for  shelter,  requiring 
as  a  first  payment  sufficient  to  secure  capital  against  loss  in 
case  the  farmer  forfeits  his  contract,  say  $100.  Let  the 
company  provide  scientific  supervision  and  conduct  the 
operation  mainly  as  though  the  farmers  were  employees,  all 
the  necessaries  to  be  charged  to  each  with  only  sufficient 
profit  to  pay  the  expense  and  a  fan*  interest  on  the  capital 
empjoyed.  Through  a  purchasing  and  sales  department  all 
products  should  be  sold  in  the  best  market  and  each  farmer 
credited  with  the  net  result  of  his  productions  until  the  agreed 
sale  price  is  received,  when  title  should  pass  in  fee  to  the 
farmer,  who,  during  the  time,  has  become  scientific  so  far  as 
that  piece  of  land  is  concerned,  and  in  future  can  operate  it 
with  the  advantages  which  progress  has  made.  A  public 
building  would  be  necessary  for  a  storehouse,  in  which  rooms 
for  meetings  of  various  kinds  should  be  provided,  also  such 
shelter  as  might  be  necessary  for  assembling  and  storage  of 
products  for  shipment. 

The  expense  of  public  buildings  and  other  utilities  could 
be  paid  for  out  of  the  increased  value  that  they  bring  to  the 
land.  The  company  should  have  a  nursery  to  provide  fruit 
trees,  etc.,  the  growth  of  which,  with  the  increase  of  popu- 
lation, would  make  the  farms,  when  paid  for,  worth  far 
more  than  their  cost.  Such  opportunities  as  this,  opened 
to  all,  would  do  away  with  the  tramps  who  are  now  able  to 


204  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

live  on  the  charitable,  only  because  of  the  known  difficulties 
of  finding  work. 

The  farmers  should  be  utilized  as  far  as  possible  in  the 
purchasing  and  sales  department,  and  should  divide  into 
committees  to  try  various  experiments  connected  with  their 
business,  that  through  their  reports  all  may  be  benefited 
by  the  knowledge  gained.  Dairying  and  large  orchards  on 
land  suitable  and  not  of  use  in  the  general  farming  plan  could 
be  conducted  by  the  community,  each  farmer  being  a  stock- 
holder. The  labor  performed  on  these  cooperative  under- 
takings should  be  paid  for  and  charged  to  cost  of  production, 
each  one  who  performs  a  share  of  the  labor  participating  in 
the  profits  as  near  as  may  be.  As  money  is  received  by  the 
company  from  products,  it  can  be  used  in  similar  operations. 
When  the  farms  are  paid  for,  the  farmers  can  continue  the 
cooperative  features  that  experience  has  proved  useful  and 
extend  the  business  principle  to  other  fields,  such  as  heating, 
light,  and  power  by  electricity,  machinery  for  preparing  prod- 
ucts for  market,  drying,  canning,  etc.,  as  well  as  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil. 

Where  the  land  is  level  the  farms  can  be  laid  out  on  a 
general  plan  that  will  admit  of  the  use  of  steam  plows  to 
reduce  the  cost  of  plowing,  save  hard  labor,  and  reduce  the 
number  of  work  animals. 

Among  the  multitude  of  advantages  the  individual  would 
have  in  these  communities,  social,  educational,  and  economic, 
health  and  physical  development  appear  as  not  the  least. 

The  farm,  as  it  is,  still  furnishes  a  horde  of  recruits  for 
insane  asylums ;  its  isolation  and  monotony  of  everyday  life, 
with  its  lack  of  social  intercourse  and  educational  advantages, 
nearly  counterbalance  the  strain  and  poverty  of  the  cities. 

But  the  greatest  difficulty  is  the  growing  inability  of  the 


BACK  TO  THE  LAND  205 

farmers'  sons  to  secure  land  and  the  means  to  cultivate  it 
when  they  arrive  at  a  marriageable  age.  Those  who  have 
seen  for  threescore  years  the  ever-increasing  flow  of  boys 
and  girls  from  the  farms  to  the  cities,  greater  in  proportion 
to  the  rural  population  than  in  any  other  age,  realize  the 
necessity  for  aid  in  this  direction.  While  it  is  true  that  the 
farm  has  contributed  largely  to  the  numbers  of  our  success- 
ful city  men,  the  fact  remains  that  the  mass  of  boys  who 
come  to  the  cities  as  well  as  the  city  born,  lack  the  faculty 
to  grab  or  save,  and  fail,  while  the  healthy  girls  swell  the 
ranks  of  prostitution,  where  an  average  of  eight  years  lands 
them  in  a  pauper's  grave. 

Our  soldiers,  as  well  as  those  of  other  countries,  are  not 
up  to  former  physical  standards.  Degeneracy,  disintegration 
is  apparent  in  every  direction. 

The  power  of  a  nation  depends  on  the  physical  and  mental 
condition  of  the  great  mass  of  people,  and  to  leave  the  people 
in  ignorance  that  they  may  be  controlled  by  the  intelligent 
few  who  understand  their  needs  and  may  have  their  welfare  at 
heart,  is  a  mistake  that  other  nations  than  Russia  have  made. 
The  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  has  wiped  out  races 
and  nations  who  have  ignored  this  fundamental  law,  that 
all  men  must  progress  together. 

A  race  or  civilization  with  such  a  basis  of  farmers  as  this 
plan  would  create  would  be  enduring. 

The  nation  or  race,  like  the  individual,  must  have  intelli- 
gent organization  and  live  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of 
nature  in  order  to  survive.  Opposition  to  them  means 
destruction.  Cooperation  is  constructive. 

If  we  are  to  profit  by  this  lesson,  it  is  necessary  that  we 
improve  the  conditions  surrounding  our  lower  classes.  That 
this  is  recognized  by  a  large  number  of  leading  minds  is 


206  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

proved  by  the  efforts  of  the  many  who  are  engaged  in  edu- 
cational and  other  social  movements,  most  of  which  result 
in  little  net  good  to  the  wage-earners. 

Obstacles  to  small  farming  near  large  cities  are  that  farms 
of  three  to  ten  acres  with  buildings  are  not  plentiful,  and 
that  mortgage  loans  are  hard  to  get  in  the  East  and  loans 
to  help  in  building  are  hardly  to  be  had  at  all. 

Land  is  either  held  intact  as  large  farms  or  is  sold  entire 
to  speculators  who  hold  it  until  it  can  be  divided  into  city 
lots.  Here,  it  would  seem,  is  an  opportunity  for  those  who 
are  interested  in  bettering  the  condition  of  their  fellow  men 
by  wholesale,  and  can  invest  large  capital,  but  little  time,  in 
the  work. 

Let  them  buy  up  land  in  large  acreages  and  cut  it  up  into 
small  plots  of  from  one  to  ten  acres,  charging  enough  ad- 
vance to  return  interest  on  the  money  invested  and  to  meet 
the  necessary  expenses  in  such  operation.  Then  make  liberal 
building  loans  to  buyers.  Inquiries  among  real  estate  men 
show  that  they  always  have  a  larger  demand  for  small  acre- 
age than  they  can  meet,  so  an  immediate  market  with 
large  profits  would  await  those  who  are  first  in  this  field. 

There  is  no  use  in  blaming  people  for  not  leaving  the  cities 
to  go  to  the  farms;  they  don't  know  enough  to  go,  they 
don't  know  enough  to  make  a  living  if  they  do  go,  and  they 
don't  know  enough  to  enjoy  it.  Besides  this,  they  have  not 
the  capital.  We  must  teach  them  and  help  them. 

George  H.  Maxwell's  Homecrofters'  Guild  at  Watertown, 
Mass.,  where  boys  are  taught  what  to  do  with  the  earth  and 
how  to  do  it,  is  worth  whole  shelves  of  books  on  "The  Exodus 
to  the  Cities"  or  the  "Prosperity  of  the  Settler." 

It  is  reported  that  the  state  of  Texas  offered  six  million 
acres  of  land  for  sale  to  settlers,  at  one  dollar  per  acre.  It 


BACK  TO  THE  LAND  207 

has  been  suggested  that  it  would  be  better  that  the  states 
should  rent  out  the  land  at  four  per  cent  of  the  sale  price. 
This  would  leave  more  money  in  the  hands  of  settlers  and 
enable  many  to  get  farms  who  cannot  pay  the  price  and  have 
enough  left  to  raise  a  crop.  In  reality  it  would  be  better  for 
the  state  to  help  farmers  get  a  start  rather  than  to  tax  them 
one  dollar  per  acre  to  begin  with.  However,  under  our 
system  of  government,  we  permit  only  those  who  have 
money  to  have  land. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  state  of  Texas  and  her 
people  would  be  better  off  if  the  land  were  leased  than  to 
have  it  sold.  Probably  a  tax  on  the  value  of  the  land 
instead  of  a  rent  would  be  the  best  for  all  the  people,  especially 
as  it  would  check  speculation. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  COMING   PROFESSION  FOR  BOYS 

IN  order  that  as  little  as  possible  may  seem  to  be  taken 
for  granted  or  as  mere  expressions  of  the  opinions  of  the 
author,  we  cite  the  views  of  specialists  as  to  the  possibilities 
of  this  field,  so  new  in  this  country,  of  intensive  agriculture. 

These  will  show  that  the  conviction  has  become  general 
that,  as  workers,  as  teachers,  and  as  discoverers,  there  is  no 
career  more  inviting  or  more  lucrative  or  more  dignified 
than  that  of  the  skillful  foster-father  of  plants. 

"Children  brought  up  in  city  tenements  tend  to  become 
vicious  and  sickly,  but  if  transported  to  country  homes  they 
may  grow  up  strong  and  self-respecting  men  and  women. 

"There  are  hundreds  of  applicants  for  every  position  in 
the  cities,  and  competition  forces  the  pay  down  to  the  lowest 
level.  Living  expenses  are  heavier.  The  risk  to  health 
from  sedentary  occupations,  long  hours  in  ill-ventilated 
offices,  stores,  and  workshops  is  serious. 

"There  are  few  inducements  to  out-door  exercise.  Even 
if  he  lives  at  home,  the  boy  who  is  forced  to  the  street  or  into 
the  factory  before  he  has  the  strength  or  education  to  do  good 
work  remains  an  unskilled  worker  all  his  life. 

"Manufacturing  is  upon  a  larger  and  larger  scale.  The 
division  of  labor  is  greater  and  greater.  Not  only  does  the 
gulf  between  capitalist  and  laborer  widen,  but  with  it  the 
gulf  between  skilled  and  unskilled  labor."  ("What  Shall 
Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living?"  Charles  F.  Wingate.) 

208 


THE  COMING  PROFESSION  FOR  BOYS     209 

It  is  the  city  that  breeds  or  attracts  most  of  the  pauperism 
and  crime.  The  country  has  its  own  healthy  life. 

Every  one  is  born  with  some  natural  gift,  and  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  discover  early  in  life  what  one's  natural  gifts  are  so 
that  each  may  be  educated  in  the  direction  suited  to  natural 
capacity. 

How  are  you  to  treat  a  lad  who  has  naturally  an  inclination 
for  the  work  on  the  farm  ?  In  the  first  place  do  not  provide 
him  with  any  spending  money  unless  he  earns  it.  The  prime 
thing  necessary  is  to  give  the  boy  a  personal  interest  in  what 
is  going  on  upon  the  farm.  Give  him  a  plot  of  land  as  his 
own,  let  him  understand  that  anything  he  may  grow  upon 
this  land  shall  belong  to  him,  but  do  not  give  him  this  plot 
and  say,  "There,  take  that;  do  as  you  like  with  it,"  he  will 
wonder  what  to  do  with  it.  He  will  need  somebody  to  help 
him  by  teaching  him  what  he  is  to  do.  Enter  into  a  partner- 
ship with  him  at  the  start,  give  him  some  instruction  as  to 
what  it  is  best  for  him  to  do  with  his  plot.  Find  out  his  in- 
clinations; give  him  sympathy  and  help.  Bring  out  his 
natural  aptitude  for  farming  life,  teach  him  method  in  his 
work ;  teach  him  to  think  his  way  out ;  and,  best  of  all,  teach 
him  to  work  for  definite  results ;  that  is  what  is  wanted  in 
any  line  of  life,  especially  in  farm  life. 

Let  the  work  of  the  boy  have  a  meaning  and  a  purpose. 
Let  him  understand  that  certain  results  cannot  be  accom- 
plished in  any  other  way,  and  give  him  chances  to  go  outside 
and  see  what  other  people  are  doing.  Let  him  see  good 
scientific  agriculture  and  be  encouraged  to  pursue  such 
methods. 

Provide  for  him  the  very  best  reading  that  can  be  found  in 
agricultural  journals  and  books.  Let  him  have  three  or 
four  years  at  an  agricultural  college.  All  the  influences 


210  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

there  point  to  agriculture  as  the  best  calling  for  a  young 
man  who  is  fit  for  it,  whereas  in  other  colleges  the  influences 
are  all  in  the  opposite  direction.  At  our  agricultural  colleges 
a  youth  has  all  the  necessary  advantages  of  general  education, 
and  also  an  education  in  the  lines  fitting  him  especially  for 
the  calling  he  has  selected.  (United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Bulletin  138,  condensed.) 

"Among  farmers  and  gardeners  not  enough  thought  is 
given  to  the  whys  and  wherefores,  or  cause  and  effect;  as 
a  rule,  they  go  on  year  after  year  without  profiting  by  the 
personal  opportunity  afforded  them  of  observation,  or  by 
the  results  of  experiments  at  scientific  stations. 

"With  rare  exceptions  the  young  farmer  and  gardener 
takes  up  his  work,  not  from  the  scientific  side,  but  strictly 
from  the  labor  side ;  and  he  begins  at  the  bottom,  meeting 
the  same  difficulties  as  did  his  father  and  too  often  not  ac- 
quiring information  beyond  what  his  father  possessed. 

"This  should  not  be;  agriculture  should  be  taught  in  all 
our  public  schools  in  country  districts,  as  it  has  been  taught 
for  years  in  Germany  and  Austria.  It  should  be  elevated 
as  an  art;  in  its  higher  estate  it  is  already  an  art.  No 
pursuit  possesses  a  greater  scope  for  development ;  the  field 
is  almost  unoccupied  by  leaders,  scientific  and  practical." 
(Burnet  Landreth,  in  999  Queries  and  Answers.) 

In  accordance  with  these  ideas,  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Agri- 
cultural School  at  Woodbine,  New  Jersey,  is  giving  practical 
courses  in  agriculture  to  Jewish  boys,  on  the  principle  of 
individual  plots  —  all  free  where  necessary. 

The  trustees  of  the  State  Agricultural  College  of  New 
Jersey,  at  New  Brunswick,  have  established  winter  courses 
in  agriculture,  open  to  all  residents  of  New  Jersey  over 
sixteen  years  of  age.  Courses  will  be  for  twelve  weeks,  and 


THE  COMING  PROFESSION  FOR  BOYS     211 

only  a  small  entrance  fee  is  required;  few  books  will  be 
needed. 

Other  states  are  doing  likewise;  all  will  need  many 
teachers  and  experimenters.  At  present  all  who  know  any- 
thing about  intensive  agriculture  are  snapped  up  by  the 
numerous  government  experiment  stations  at  good  salaries. 
The  land  like  that  of  the  Rockefellers,  the  Paynes,  the 
Cuttings,  on  which  farming  is  carried  on  by  unnecessarily 
expensive  methods,  needs  the  services  of  trained  agriculturists 
and  professional  foresters.  The  Division  of  Forestry  at 
the  start  employed  eleven  persons,  but  now  it  has  in  the  field 
as  many  hundreds  of  employees,  including  a  lot  of  trained 
foresters. 

The  railroads  also  see  the  profit  in  teaching  farming,  and 
are  devoting  more  and  more  money  to  experiments  and  lec- 
tures to  show  the  farmers  that  they  can  get  more  and  better 
crops  with  the  same  effort  by  intelligent  selection  of  seeds. 

The  Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy  Railway  Company 
ran  its  first  Seed  and  Soil  Special  over  the  entire  system  in 
the  winter  of  1904-1905,  and  has  lectured  to  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  farmers  since. 

They  report  to  us  that  "  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  lectures 
did  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  necessarily  the  larger  increase 
of  crops  which  followed  is  due  to  the  scientific  methods  of 
farming  expounded  by  the  various  professors."  The  late 
President  James  J.  Hill  wrote  much  about  the  small  farms' 
large  yields. 

The  hundreds  of  thousands  of  "war  gardens"  unskillfully 
conducted  and  glutting  the  local  markets  with  crops  all 
matured  at  about  the  same  local  time  will  unreasonably 
disgust  many  with  intensive  cultivation,  especially  those  who 
work  but  do  not  think.  The  remedy  is  more  instruction. 


212  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

The  effect  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment 
stations  is  plain  to  the  eye  in  the  better  appearance  of  farms 
as  we  near  the  centers  of  instruction. 

Some  years  ago  a  clergyman  published  a  book  upon  the 
Adirondacks ;  it  was  full  of  poetry,  and  he  sent  men  up  there 
who  afterwards  became  known  as  "Murray's  Fools."  They 
knew  nothing  about  the  life  and  had  no  suitability  and  little 
preparation  for  it.  We  do  not  wish  to  bring  out  a  crop  of 
"Three  Acres  and  Liberty  Fools."  We  are  telling  what  has 
been  done  and  what  can  be  done  again.  It  does  not  follow 
that  every  man  can  or  will  do  it,  much  less  teach  it  or  ad- 
vance the  art,  but  the  field  is  a  large  one  and  holds  out  great 
promise  to  those  who  persevere  and  excel  in  it. 

If  any  one  thinks  that  the  profit  of  the  earth  will  come  to 
the  cultivator  without  very  intelligent  and  steady  work,  he 
is  mistaken.  No  owner  of  land,  unless  others  require  it  to 
live  upon,  can  make  money  by  neglecting  it. 

Says  Maxwell's  Talisman:  "The  greatest  good  that  can 
be  done  to  the  American  farmer  to-day  is  to  teach  him  to 
make  the  greatest  possible  profit  from  the  smallest  tract  of 
land  from  which  a  family  can  be  supported  in  comfort.  A 
great  influence  operating  to-day  against  keeping  the  boys 
in  the  country  is  that  the  boy  does  not  have  money  enough 
to  buy  a  farm.  It  is  unfortunately  true  that  in  some  places 
there  is  a  trend  in  the  direction  of  absorbing  farms  into  still 
larger  farms  with  a  consequent  diminution  of  population, 
as  in  Iowa  and  other  sections.  The  remedy  for  this  is  to 
demonstrate  that  if  the  value  is  in  the  boy  rather  than  in  the 
farm,  and  the  boy  is  taught  intensive,  diversified,  scientific 
farming,  a  good  living  with  a  surplus  profit  that  will  provide 
amply  for  old  age,  may  be  made  from  a  comparatively  small 
tract  of  land.  The  tract  may  be,  say,  ten  acres,  with  ample 


THE  COMING  PROFESSION  FOR  BOYS     213 

cultivation,  irrigation,  and  fertilization,  or  even  without  irriga- 
tion, because  a  hoe  and  a  cultivator  in  the  hands  of  a  scientific 
farmer  may  bring  as  good  and  better  results  in  providing 
moisture  for  growing  plants  as  can  be  had  from  a  ditch  and 
unlimited  water  in  the  hands  of  an  ignorant  farmer." 

The  field  of  discovery  is  always  limitless,  and  it  is  to  those 
boys  or  girls  who  devote  their  attention  to  this  that  the  great- 
est return  will  come.  "What  a  fine  thing  it  would  be  to 
find  even  one  plant  free  from  rust  in  the  midst  of  a  rusted 
field.  It  would  mean  a  rust-resistant  plant.  Its  off-spring 
would  probably  be  also  rust  resistant.  If  you  should  ever 
find  such  a  plant,  be  sure  to  save  its  seed  and  plant  in  a 
plot  by  itself.  The  next  year  again  save  seed  from  those 
plants  least  rusted.  Possibly  you  can  develop  a  rust  proof 
race  of  wheat!  Keep  your  eyes  open."  ("Agriculture  for 
Beginners,"  by  Burkett,  Stevens,  and  Hill,  pages  76-78.) 
So  you  may  pluck  gain  out  of  loss. 

If  you  want  to  do  experiments,  the  influence  of  ether  on 
plants  is  one  new  and  wonderful  field.  It  seems  to  induce 
artificial  rest,  so  that  lilacs,  for  instance,  can  be  made  to 
bloom  twice  by  a  treatment,  the  last  time  near  Christmas. 

E.  V.  Wilcox  says  in  Farming  that  in  1899  a  small  quantity 
of  durum  or  macaroni  wheat  was  introduced  into  this  country 
for  trial.  It  was  found  profitable  in  localities  where  there 
was  too  little  rain  for  ordinary  wheat.  Six  years  later, 
20,000,000  bushels  per  year  of  the  wheat  was  grown  in  the 
United  States.  Its  production  has  increased  greatly  every 
season  and  has  added  materially  to  the  total  of  the  wheat 
crop.  Thorough  fall  cultivation  has  been  found  to  increase 
the  yield,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  wheat  belt  one  in  five  of 
the  farmers  has  already  adopted  the  practice.  In  certain 
states  where  manuring  has  been  thought  unnecessary,  ex- 


214  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

periments  have  demonstrated  that  the  yield  may  be  in- 
creased 60  per  cent  by  this  simple  practice.  The  wheat 
production  of  Nebraska  was  increased  more  than  10,000,000 
bushels  by  the  introduction  of  a  hardy  strain  of  Turkey 
red  wheat.  Swedish  select  oats  in  Wisconsin  have  greatly 
augmented  the  oat  yield  of  the  state.  In  1899  six  pounds 
of  the  seed  was  brought  to  the  state  and  from  this  small 
beginning  a  crop  of  9,000,000  bushels  was  harvested  five 
years  later. 

"Mr.  Gideon,  of  Minnesota,  planted  many  apple  seeds, 
and  from  them  all  raised  one  tree  that  was  very  fruitful,  finely 
flavored,  and  able  to  withstand  the  cold  Minnesota  winter. 
This  tree  he  multiplied  by  grafts  and  named  it  the  Wealthy 
apple.  It  is  said  that  in  this  one  apple  he  benefited  the  world 
to  the  value  of  more  than  one  million  dollars.  You  must  not 
let  any  valuable  bud  or  seed  variant  be  lost."  ("  Agriculture 
for  Beginners,"  page  61.) 

"This  fact  ought  to  be  very  helpful  to  us  next  year  when 
planting  corn.  We  should  plant  seed  secured  only  from 
stalks  that  produced  the  most  corn.  If  we  follow  this  plan 
year  by  year,  each  acre  of  land  will  be  made  to  produce  more 
kernels  and  hence  a  larger  crop  of  corn,  and  yet  no  more  ex- 
pense will  be  required  to  raise  the  crop."  (Same,  page  71.) 

The  World's  Work  tells  how  the  country  got  a  new  industry. 

Mr.  George  Gibbs,  of  Clearbrook,  Wash.,  has  made  his 
"stake"  by  growing  tulip  and  hyacinth  bulbs.  He  had  a 
little  place  on  Orcas  Island,  in  Puget  Sound.  He  did  not 
know  anything  about  growing  flowers,  but  he  did  know  that 
certain  varieties  of  bulbs  brought  good  prices  in  the  East. 
He  was  observant  enough  to  see  that  the  moist,  warm 
climate  and  rich  soil  of  the  Puget  Sound  country  were 
peculiarly  favorable  to  flowers. 


THE  COMING  PROFESSION  FOR  BOYS     215 

He  had  bad  luck  with  his  bulbs ;  that  only  meant  that  he 
still  had  something  to  learn.  He  kept  his  nerve  even  when 
he  went  bankrupt.  His  friends  told  him  he  was  wasting 
time,  but  they  could  not  shake  his  faith. 

In  twelve  years  he  found  that  he  was  right.  His  wonderful 
gardens  were  making  him  rich.  Other  men  have  gone  into 
the  business,  but  he  was  first  and  has  kept  his  lead.  He  has 
made  the  Puget  Sound  country  the  greatest  rival  of  Holland 
in  the  sale  of  flowering  bulbs. 

Quantities  of  wild  herbs,  fruits,  and  roots  that  no  one  eats 
are  good ;  the  Jesuits  had  a  list  of  over  two  hundred  kinds 
that  the  Indians  ate,  but  it  was  lost.  Some  one  can  do  a 
great  service  by  making  it  up  again  by  research  and  experi- 
ment. Thousands  more  of  the  wild  things  must  be  good  for 
dyes,  fabrics,  and  fodder. 

Fame  like  Burbank's  and  fortune  awaits  the  one  who  is  a 
good  self-advertiser  and  can  find  the  use  of  the  poetic  daisies, 
goldenrod,  and  thistle,  the  all-pervading  "pusley,"  and  such 
other  vegetable  vermin. 

An  interesting  experiment  is  conducted  in  growing  tea 
with  colored  child  labor,  at  Tea,  South  Carolina,  by  the 
aid  of  education  and  machinery  and  the  cooperation  of  the 
Agricultural  Department  at  Washington,  who  will  furnish 
particulars.  Whatever  may  be  its  outcome,  this  will  give 
an  opening  to  some  intelligent  cultivators,  and  it  points  the 
way  to  other  fields. 

Those  who  are  first  in  raising  new  or  improved  plants  find 
a  waiting  market  for  them. 

The  Market  Growers  Gazette,  of  London,  England,  reports 
that  Mr.  A.  Findlay,  Mairsland,  Auchtermuchty,  Scotland, 
sold  one  season  to  five  leading  growers  whose  names  are 
given,  five  seed  potatoes  at  £  20  each  (which  would  be,  per- 


216  THREE  ACRES   AND   LIBERTY 

haps,  $500  a  peck).  He  says  enthusiastically:  "It  is  as 
perfectly  round-shaped  a  potato  as  can  be  imagined.  There 
is  a  slight  dash  of  pink  on  the  outer  rim  of  the  eye.  My  stock 
of  it  is  very  small,  only  126  lb.,  and  I  do  not  care  to  sell 
any.  If  next  year's  crop  yields  as  well  as  this  year's,  we 
shall  have  twenty  times  that  quantity."  Mr.  Findlay  has 
other  seed  potatoes,  just  as  high  priced,  for  which  he  wants 
$125  per  lb.,  which,  he  says,  "means  that  I  do  not  want  to 
sell  any." 

This  shows  what  progressive  people  think  of  the  real 
value  of  good  seed. 

It  is  worth  mentioning  that  "  The  land  on  which  these  are 
grown  is  not  highly  manured ;  the  only  artificial  manure  that 
it  has  received  is  about  200  lb.  of  potash  per  acre.  It  has 
the  drawback  of  being  rather  stony." 

Of  course  this  is  "a  fad" ;  it  is  doubtful  if  it  will  pay  any 
one  to  give  such  prices  for  seed  except  to  sell  to  some  bigger 
fool  than  himself.  Of  course,  also,  the  market  for  a  particular 
fancy  thing  may  soon  be  overstocked,  but  it  seems  to  be  a 
nice  thing  for  the  Findlays  meanwhile,  and  it  does  good  in 
teaching  people  to  appreciate  good  things. 

Yet  the  average  potato  patcher  prudently  saves  his  small 
potatoes  for  next  year's  seed,  which  is  just  as  if  a  breeder  were 
to  keep  the  colts  that  were  too  poor  to  sell,  to  be  the  parents 
of  his  herd. 

In  the  dark  ages  of  farming  —  to  wit,  in  1881,  for  this  is 
a  true  story  —  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  came  into  possession, 
by  inheritance,  of  a  fifteen-acre  farm  a  short  way  from  Phila- 
delphia. He  found  the  soil  a  reddish,  somewhat  gravelly 
clay,  and  so  worn  out  from  years  of  cropping  that  it  did  not 
support  two  cows  and  a  horse.  City  born  and  bred,  he  was 
encumbered  with  no  knowledge  of  agriculture  which  had  to 


THE  COMING  PROFESSION  FOR  BOYS     217 

be  unlearned.  He  began  a  careful  and  systematic  study 
of  the  agricultural  literature,  and  ultimately  developed  a 
novel  system  of  dairy  farming  to  which  he  adhered  religiously. 

The  farm  lying  near  the  city  is  high-priced  land ;  for  this 
reason,  and  because  of  the  limited  acreage,  the  cows  were  kept 
in  the  barn  the  year  round.  For  six  years  his  bill  for  veteri- 
nary services  was  $1.50,  while  the  income  from  the  milk  of 
his  seventeen  cows  was  about  $2400  a  year.  In  addition, 
from  four  to  six  head  of  young  cattle  were  sold  annually, 
netting  about  $500  a  year.  As  the  stock  on  the  farm  was 
stall  fed  every  particle  of  plant  food  contained  in  the  stable 
manure,  liquid  as  well  as  solid,  was  utilized.  No  fertilizer 
was  ever  purchased.  Yet  all  of  the  "roughage"  for  thirty 
head  of  stock  was  raised  on  the  thirteen  acres  of  available 
soil.  Only  $625  a  year  was  expended  for  concentrated  feed- 
ing stuffs.  The  net  earnings  of  the  farm  for  the  period 
averaged  more  than  $1000  a  year.  And  this  was  during  the 
early  days  of  his  experience ;  later  he  made  more. 

Professor  W.  J.  Spillman,  of  the  Agricultural  Department, 
visited  him  in  1903,  and  studied  the  methods  employed. 
Then,  he  says,  the  rush  to  see  the  farm  became  so  great 
that  the  owner  had  to  give  it  up. 

Few  people  who  know  nothing  about  it,  and  won't  learn, 
can  take  even  three  acres  and  make  anything  off  it.  To  get 
the  phenomenal  yields  takes  capital  —  sometimes  large 
capital,  wisely  spent.  Sometimes  we  read  of  immense  prod- 
ucts "per  acre";  this  often  means  the  product  of  a  single 
rod  of  ground,  this  gives  at  the  rate  of  so  much  "per  acre," 
or  might,  if  extended. 

But  any  one  can  take  a  little  bit  of  ground  and  use  it 
thoroughly  and  increase  his  borders  and  his  knowledge  as  he 
goes  on.  He  will  find  plenty  to  pay  him  for  doing  or  teaching 


218  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

whatever  he  has  learned  to  do  that  no  one  else  has  done. 
"If  a  man  make  but  a  mousetrap  better  than  his  fellows, 
though  he  makes  his  tent  in  the  wilderness,  the  world  will 
beat  a  path  to  his  door." 

The  mission  of  this  book  is  accomplished  if  it  interests 
you  to  consider  the  possibilities  of  making  a  living  on  a 
few  acres  and  leads  you  to  investigate.  It  is  not  written 
as  a  textbook,  for,  as  has  been  shown,  there  are  authorities 
enough  cited  to  supply  all  the  technical  information  needed. 

Its  sole  object  is  to  show  what  has  been  done  and  what  can 
be  done  on  small  areas  and  to  show  that  life  in  the  country 
need  not  be  so  laborious  if  the  same  methods  are  used  which 
make  successes  of  business  in  other  lines. 

If  it  does  this  and  is  the  means  of  checking  in  any  degree  the 
reckless  trend  of  people  from  the  country  to  the  cities,  the 
author  will  feel  that  his  efforts  have  been  well  repaid. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  WOOD  LOT 

IF  you  have  a  bit  of  woods  on  your  little  farm,  take  care 
of  it.  By  intelligent  thinning  you  can  make  an  average 
income  of  five  dollars  per  acre  from  ordinary  second  growth 
wild  woods.  The  cord  wood,  barrel  hoops,  fence  posts,  and 
so  on  will  decrease  your  expenses,  while  the  timber  will  in- 
crease in  value.  That  lot  is  the  place  to  start  your  boy  as 
a  forester. 

Instructions  how  to  treat  the  trees  can  be  obtained  from 
your  State  Forestry  Department  or  from  the  National 
Forest  Service  at  Washington :  the  care  of  growing  timber 
is  a  big  subject  and  requires  study,  but  don't  sell  your  stand- 
ing timber  without  their  advice.  Forestry  can  hardly  be 
made  to  pay  on  a  small  lot  with  hired  labor  or  hired  teams, 
—  and  you  must  not  pay  much  for  your  wood  lot,  else 
interest  and  taxes  will  eat  up  the  returns. 

To  be  of  high  quality,  timber  must  be,  to  a  considerable 
proportion  of  its  height,  free  of  limbs,  which  are  the  cause 
of  knots ;  it  must  be  tall ;  and  it  must  not  decrease  rapidly 
in  diameter  from  the  butt  to  the  top  of  the  last  log.  In  a 
dense  stand  of  timber  there  is  very  great  competition  for 
sunlight  among  the  individual  trees,  with  the  result  that 
height  growth  is  increased.  Trees  in  crowded  stands  are 
taller  than  those  in  uncrowded  stands  of  the  same  age. 
When  the  trees  are  crowded  so  that  sunlight  does  not  reach 

219 


220  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

the  lower  branches,  these  soon  die  and  become  brittle; 
they  then  fall  off  or  are  broken  off  by  the  wind,  snow,  or 
other  agencies.  By  this  process  trunks  are  formed  which 
are  free  from  limbs,  and  hence  of  high  quality. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  trees  in  the  wood  lot  should 
be  so  crowded  that  the  crown  or  top  of  each  individual 
tree  may  be  in  contact  with  those  of  its  nearest  neighbors. 
A  crowded  stand  of  trees  produces  not  only  a  larger  number 
but  also  a  greater  proportion  of  high  quality  sawlogs  than 
an  uncrowded  stand.  So  vital  a  matter  is  their  forest  shade 
that  it  does  not  do  to  set  out  young  trees  which  have  grown 
in  the  forest.  Ordinarily,  the  exposure  to  the  sunlight 
stunts  them  and  often  kills  them.  Nursery  trees  are  best; 
the  next  best  are  trees  that  have  grown  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods. 

The  actual  value  of  woodland  as  pasture  is  small.  One 
dollar  per  acre  per  year  is  probably  a  liberal  estimate  of  the 
value  of  its  forage.  Thrifty  fully  stocked  stands  of  timber 
will  grow  at  the  rate  of  250  or  more  board  feet  of  lumber 
per  year.  Adopting  only  250  board  feet  as  the  growth  and 
assuming  the  value  of  the  standing  timber  to  be  from  $5  to 
$8  per  1000  feet  board  measure,  the  value  of  the  timber 
growth  is  from  $1.25  to  $2  per  acre  per  year. 

If  the  timber  is  given  good  care,  moreover,  the  growth 
should  be  as  much  as  500  board  feet  per  acre  per  year.  The 
larger  value  of  the  wood  lot  for  growing  timber,  as  compared 
to  the  value  of  its  forage  only,  is  therefore  apparent. 

It  must  not  be  thought  possible  to  secure  this  growth  of 
timber  and  utilize  the  wood  lot  for  pasture  at  the  same  time, 
because  the  stock  eat  the  seedlings  and  damage  the  trees. 

If  shade,  however,  rather  than  forage  is  the  wood  lot's 
chief  value  to  stock,  it  can  doubtless  be  provided  by  allowing 


THE  WOOD  LOT  221 

the  stock  to  range  in  only  a  portion  of  the  lot.  The  remain- 
der can  more  profitably  be  devoted  to  the  production  of  wood 
alone. 

Owners  are  doubtless  in  some  instances  indifferent  about 
fires  in  their  wood  lots,  because  they  do  not  realize  that  these 
may  do  great  harm  without  giving  striking  evidence  of  the 
fact.  They  burn  the  fallen  leaves  and  accumulated  litter 
of  several  years,  thus  destroying  the  material  with  which 
trees  enrich  then*  own  soil.  The  soil  becomes  exposed, 
evaporation  is  greater,  and  more  of  the  rain  and  melted 
snow  runs  off  the  surface.  The  roots  may  also  be  exposed 
and  burned.  The  vitality  of  the  trees  is  weakened  and 
their  rate  of  growth  decreased.  Don't  burn  leaves  or  waste 
growth:  it  is  dangerous  and  they  are  valuable  for  mulch 
and  for  manure. 

It  has  been  found  in  the  prairie  region  that  through  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  most  efficient  grove  windbreaks, 
the  yield  in  farm  crops  is  increased  to  the  extent  of  a  crop  as 
large  as  could  be  grown  on  a  strip  three  times  as  wide  as 
the  height  of  the  trees. 

At  present  the  following  states  maintain  nurseries  and 
distribute  young  trees  either  free  or  practically  at  cost  to 
planters  within  the  state :  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
New  York,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Michigan,  North 
Dakota,  and  Kansas. 

The  names  of  nurseries  which  handle  stock  of  certain 
trees  and  their  quoted  prices  for  all  the  more  important 
species  can  be  secured  from  the  Forest  Service,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Whether  your  wood  lot  pays  a  profit  or  not,  like  the 
profit  from  the  rest  of  your  land,  depends  largely  on  how  it 
is  taxed.  The  higher  it  is  taxed  the  harder  it  is  to  make  it 


222  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

pay.  In  most  states  timberland  is  assessed  on  the  basis 
of  its  value,  timber  and  land  together.  Woodland  assessed 
on  this  basis  is  overtaxed  as  compared  with  land  assessed 
on  the  basis  of  what  it  produces  each  year.  The  value 
of  plowland  for  farm  purposes  is  established  by  what  it  will 
earn.  If  the  owner  can  make  $10  an  acre  a  year  over  all 
expenses  by  growing  say  wheat,  corn,  cotton  or  alfalfa  on 
it,  his  land  will  have  a  value  of  perhaps  $150  an  acre.  If  it 
took  two  years  to  grow  a  crop,  the  land  would  be  worth 
only  half  as  much.  Its  owner  in  that  case  would  kick  vigor- 
ously if  he  could  not  get  his  assessment  lowered.  He  would 
kick  still  more  vigorously  if  he  had  to  pay  a  tax  also  on  the 
value  of  the  standing  crop,  after  having  to  pay  too  much  on 
the  land.  "The  Lord  loveth  a  cheerful  kicker." 

With  woodland  the  case  is  still  worse.  Each  year  the 
owner  may  have  to  pay  a  tax  on  the  merchantable  crops 
of  many  past  years.  It  is  as  though  the  owner  of  plowland 
had  to  pay  a  tax  on  the  value  of  his  field  crops  twice  a  week 
throughout  the  growing  season.  When  a  full-grown  tree 
is  cut  down  or  burned  up  in  a  forest  fire,  it  may  have  been 
taxed  40  or  50  times  over.  Each  year  the  land  on  which  it 
grew  has  been  valued  not  on  the  basis  of  its  earning  power, 
but  on  the  basis  of  what  it  would  bring  if  sold,  timber  and  all. 
A  tax  levied  on  the  income-earning  value  of  the  land  would 
be  much  more  equitable. 

Certain  states  have  applied  this  principle  by  legislation 
under  which  land  to  be  used  for  growing  timber  can  be 
classified  so  that  the  timber  can  be  taxed  separately  from  the 
land.  The  land  there  is  taxed  annually  on  its  value,  without 
timber.  The  tax  on  the  timber  is  not  paid  until  the  crop  is 
harvested.  It  is  therefore  a  tax  on  the  yield.  In  New 
York  this  yield  tax  is  5  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  crop 


THE  WOOD  LOT  223 

harvested;  Michigan  5  per  cent  of  it;  Massachusetts  6 
per  cent;  and  Vermont,  Connecticut,  and  Pennsylvania 
10  per  cent,  with  different  provisions  for  forests  already 
established. 

Such  a  method  is  much  better  than  that  adopted  by  a 
number  of  states  which  exempt,  under  certain  conditions, 
reforested  or  reforesting  lands  for  a  term  of  years,  or  allow 
rebates  or  bounties  on  such  lands. 

The  profit  of  a  growing  forest  crop  will  depend  largely 
on  relief  from  excessive  taxation.  It  is  unthrifty  public 
policy  to  discourage  putting  waste  land  to  work.  ("  The 
Farm  Woodlot  Problem,"  by  Herbert  A.  Smith,  Editor 
Forest  Service  —  from  Yearbook  of  Department  of  Agri- 
culture for  1914.) 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

SOME  PRACTICAL  EXPERIMENTS 

THE  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  also 
Cornell  University  and  various  other  schools  publish  special 
studies  and  monographs  of  different  branches.  For  some 
a  small  charge  is  made,  but  they  are  mostly  distributed  free. 
Many  of  them  are  very  valuable.  The  United  States  De- 
partment's pamphlet  on  the  Diseases  of  the  Violet  is  a  no- 
table example.  The  average  person  does  not  know  how  these 
can  be  obtained  or  even  that  they  exist. 

The  Department's  Year  Books  are  most  interesting  read- 
ing, and  both  its  Professors  and  the  state  colleges  will  answer 
particular  questions  of  citizens. 

These  and  the  various  United  States  and  State  Experi- 
ment Station  publications  will  serve  instead  of  most  books 
(except  this  one),  if  properly  filed,  indexed,  and  cross- 
indexed  so  that  you  can  readily  turn  to  all  the  information 
on  a  given  subject  —  on  bugs,  for  instance,  before  the  insects 
have  harvested  your  crop. 

I  am  trying  only  to  suggest  things,  not  to  advise,  nor  to 
induce  my  readers  to  try  to  do  anything  that  they  don't 
like  or  have  no  capacity  for.  It  is  difficult  to  make  people 
understand  that. 

One  reader  of  this  book,  a  dear  creature,  wrote  her  experi- 
ence for  a  Crafts  magazine.  She  got  the  acres,  built  her 
house,  and  raised  one  fine  crop  of  —  swans  ?  nuts  grafted 
on  wild  trees  ?  partridge  berries  ?  No  —  three  tons  of  hay ! 

224 


SOME  PRACTICAL  EXPERIMENTS          225 

She  called  it  "Three  Acres  and  Starving" ;  I  called  it  "Three 
Acres  and  Stupidity."  She  didn't  eat  the  hay,  and  the  Edi- 
tor wouldn't  publish  my  reply. 

Everybody  raises  hay  and  potatoes ;  so  don't  you  raise  any 
unless  for  your  own  use. 

Potatoes  are  a  laborious  crop,  requiring  constant  care, 
manuring,  cutting  the  seed  eyes  (on  which  there  is  much 
uncertain  lore),  hilling  up  or  down  according  to  drainage 
and  rainfall,  spraying  with  Pyrox  or  dusting  with  Paris  green, 
and,  neither  least  nor  last,  bug  hunting. 

The  seed  is  expensive,  but  for  your  own  use  you  may 
plant  from  whatever  seed,  otherwise  wasted,  may  grow  on 
the  potato  vine,  on  the  tops  of  the  plants.  The  crop  will  be 
small  potatoes  and  all  kinds  of  varieties,  which  won't  sell 
in  the  market  but  which  make  each  dinner  a  surprise  party. 
You  may  strike  a  new  and  improved  strain,  though  there  are 
over  a  thousand  varieties  of  potato  listed  already.  New 
creations  of  merit  bring  good  returns,  and  'tis  the  enter- 
prising experimenter  that  reaps  the  honor  and  the  harvest, 
and  he  is  worthy  of  his  reward. 

To  select  the  most  productive  plants  and  breed  again 
from  these  is,  however,  a  more  promising  profit  plan.  Even 
then  don't  plant  the  tubers  unless  you  will  take  the  pains  to 
soak  the  seed  potatoes  in  scab  preventer.  If  you  won't, 
likely  you  will  raise  mostly  scab,  and  the  spores  thereof  will 
spoil  your  ground  for  potatoes  for  years. 

It  costs  little  in  money  to  make  it  —  half  a  pint  of  formalin 
to  fifteen  gallons  of  water.  Not  guessed  but  measured 
gallons.  Then  soak  for  an  hour  and  a  half  by  the  Ingersoll. 
Don't  reckon  that  one  little  hour  or  a  few  will  do  just  as  well. 
With  one  hour  they  will  be  under-done  and  spotty,  with 
three  over-done  and  weakly. 
Q 


226  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

There  is  lots  to  be  discovered  yet  about  "the  spuds." 
Sawdust  is  reported  an  excellent  mulch  for  them,  as  for 
small  fruits.  When  you  store  any  seeds  to  plant,  put  car- 
bolic moth  balls  with  them :  it  checks  insects  and  mice 
and  helps  to  protect  the  planted  seeds  from  birds. 

In  a  general  way,  with  potatoes  and  with  other  things 
that  you  want  good  and  plenty,  get  specific  directions  and 
follow  them.  Most  people  won't  read  directions;  more 
can't  follow  them.  Those  people  have  their  knives  out  for 
"book  farmers  and  professors,"  but  you  can't  improve  on 
experience  and  experiment  by  the  light  of  laziness  or  of 
nature. 

A  delicate  jelly  is  made  out  of  the  red  outer  pulp 
of  rose  berries.  It  would  be  romantic  to  develop  a  Rose 
fruit  from  those  seed  pods,  as  the  peach  was  developed  from 
the  almond.  We  have  invented  stranger  fruits  than  that, 
such  as  the  logan-berry  and  the  pomato. 

But  there  is  better  chance  for  profit  in  doing  the  old  things 
better,  especially  when  the  experiment  costs  little  or  nothing. 

Yout  can  have  a  strawberry  garden  on  your  roof  or  even 
on  a  balcony.  This  need  not  be  costly.  Clinch  all  the  nails 
on  the  inside  of  a  stout  barrel.  Bore  half  a  dozen  two-inch 
holes  in  the  bottom,  or  put  in  a  layer  of  stones,  for  drainage. 
Bore  a  row  of  eight  holes  about  eight  inches  from  the  bottom 
of  the  barrel  and  about  eight  inches  apart.  Eight  inches 
above  this  bore  a  second  row  of  holes  "staggered,"  and  a 
third  eight  inches  above  those.  Pile  several  old  tomato 
cans  with  perforated  bottoms  one  on  the  other  in  the  center 
of  the  barrel :  these  should  be  the  height  of  the  barrel  and 
placed  upright  in  its  middle.  This  is  the  conductor  down 
which  water  should  be  poured  at  intervals  before  the  soil 
gets  quite  dry.  Fill  the  barrel  with  soil  made  of  one  half 


SOME  PRACTICAL  EXPERIMENTS          227 

loam  and  one  half  well-rotted  manure.  Be  sure  the  manure 
is  not  fresh.  A  little  bone  meal  is  a  good  addition. 

Now  plant  the  first  row  of  strawberry  plants  ("ever-bear- 
ing" are  best,  though  they  don't  ever-bear).  Put  each  plant 
inside,  spread  the  roots,  and  pull  the  leaves  of  each  out 
through  one  of  the  holes.  Press  the  soil  down  firmly  around 
each  root.  Repeat  the  process  for  the  other  two  rows; 
fill  the  barrel  and  set  say  six  plants  on  the  top.  That  will 
give  you  thirty  plants,  which  should  grow  ten  to  twenty- 
five  quarts  of  fine  berries,  or  more.  The  illustration  makes 
the  holes  twelve  inches  apart  —  for  big  leafy  plants. 

If  there  are  any  more,  those  will  be  you.  Anyhow,  you 
will  know  a  lot  about  strawberries  at  the  end  of  the  season. 
Other  things  can  be  grown  in  the  same  way. 

Better  than  growing  vegetables,  or  where  dry  land  can't 
be  obtained,  is  to  raise  some  crop  like  water  cress  that  usually 
comes  from  a  distance. 

Often  an  otherwise  poor  season  will  help  a  specialty. 
One  year  wet  weather  jumped  the  price  of  mint  and  it 
sold  at  double  prices.  Hot,  dry  weather  is  required  to 
make  it  produce  its  best. 

Most  of  the  mint  produced  in  this  country  for  peppermint 
oil  is  grown  in  Michigan.  More  than  4000  acres  are  reported 
from  a  single  county.  Mint  oil  is  worth  about  $3.50  a  pound 
and  costs  about  a  dollar  to  produce.  Nice  bright  dried  leaves 
sell  for  about  15c.  a  pound. 

The  production  of  mint  is  sometimes  as  high  as  fifty  pounds 
of  oil  to  the  acre.  The  bulk  of  it  is  grown  on  marshlands, 
which  a  few  years  ago  were  nowhere  worth  more  than  a  few 
dollars  an  acre.  The  mint  is  sent  to  the  manufacturers, 
where  it  is  purified  and  made  into  flavoring  extract  or  used 
in  chewing  gum,  etc. 


228  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

Why  should  we,  with  our  infinite  variety  of  climates,  soils, 
and  labor,  import  from  England  the  coarser  varieties  of  seeds 
of  the  cabbage  family,  savoy,  Brussels  sprouts,  kohl-rabi, 
or  kale?  We  owe  England  enough  already  for  the  seed  of 
Liberty  we  got  from  her.  California  now  supplies  some  seed 
for  onions,  carrots,  parsnips,  and  a  few  others.  The  finest 
cauliflower  comes  mostly  from  Denmark  now. 

Turnip  seed,  too,  mangel-wurzel  and  swedes,  onion,  pea, 
bean,  carrot,  parsnip,  radish,  and  beet  seeds  could  be  grown 
here  by  the  same  skill,  care,  and  training  as  they  are 
grown  abroad. 

An  interesting  method  of  forcing  plants  by  the  use  of  hot- 
water  baths  is  described  in  La  Nature  (Paris),  by  Henri 
Coupin.  The  process  is  much  simpler  than  others  now  in 
use  and  may  be  employed  by  any  one  who  has  a  small  green- 
house, no  expert  treatment  being  necessary.  Says  Mr. 
Coupin : 

"Most  trees  in  our  countries  undergo  a  period  of  rest, 
during  which  all  growth  appears  to  be  suspended. 
Branches  do  not  enlarge  and  the  buds  on  them  remain  as 
they  are.  They  do  not  arouse  from  their  torpor  until  spring, 
first,  because  they  then  find  the  conditions  necessary  for 
their  development,  and  again,  because,  during  the  period 
of  rest,  chemical  changes  have  taken  place  in  them.  These 
are  indispensable,  because  if  they  did  not  occur,  the  trees, 
even  in  the  most  favorable  conditions,  would  not  open  their 
buds.  For  example,  plant  branches  that  have  quite  recently 
dropped  their  leaves,  in  a  warm  greenhouse.  They  will  not 
bud ;  but  make  the  same  experiment  at  the  end  of  several 
months  and  the  buds  will  appear. 

"There  are  several  ways  of  shortening  this  period  of  rest, 
some  of  which  are  rather  odd.  The  best  known  is  the  pro- 


SOME  PRACTICAL  EXPERIMENTS          229 

cess  of  etherification,  which  has  been  so  much  discussed 
recently,  and  which  consists  in  placing  the  plants  to  be 
forced  in  the  vapor  of  ether  or  chloroform  for  twenty-four 
to  forty-eight  hours.  Afterwards  when  placed  in  a  hot- 
house, the  branches  begin  to  develop  almost  immediately. 

"A  very  ingenious  botanist,  Hans  Molisch,  professor  in 
the  University  of  Prague,  has  devised  a  method  of  forcing, 
simpler  still  and  quite  as  effective.  It  consists  in  plunging 
the  branches  into  warm  water  during  a  time  that  varies  with 
the  species.  The  best  method  is  to  plunge  the  plants  in  a 
reservoir  of  warm  water,  head  downward,  without  moistening 
the  roots,  which  would  injure  them.  After  a  certain  time, 
the  plants  are  withdrawn,  turned  right  side  up  with  care, 
and  placed  in  a  greenhouse,  where  they  develop  at  once. 

"The  duration  of  the  warm  bath  should  be  nine  to  twelve 
hours  at  most.  The  best  temperature  is  30°  to  35°  [86°  to 
95°  F.].  .  .  .  That  is  to  say,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  one 
may  simply  employ  the  water  available  in  hothouses,  which 
is  just  at  the  proper  temperature.  The  process  is  thus  at 
the  disposal  of  all  gardeners. 

"It  should  be  said  that  the  good  effects  of  the  hot  baths 
are  confined  to  the  parts  actually  immersed  and  do  not 
extend  to  the  whole  plant.  Thus,  on  the  same  stem  we  may 
see  developing  only  the  branches  that  have  been  treated 
with  the  bath,  while  the  others  remain  torpid.  This  is  easy 
to  verify  with  the  lilac  or  the  willow. 

"If  Lobner  is  to  be  believed,  we  may  substitute  for  the 
water  bath  one  of  steam.  He  has  obtained  good  results 
with  the  lily  of  the  valley.  The  thing  is  possible,  but  the 
method  used  by  Molisch  is  more  practical. 

"How  shall  we  explain  the  good  effect  of  warm  water  on 
branches  in  a  resting  state  ?  We  are  absolutely  ignorant  of 


230  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

its  mechanism,  as  we  are  also  in  the  case  of  etherification. 
But  if  we  knew  everything,  science  would  be  no  longer  amus- 
ing I"  —  Condensed,  from  THE  LITERARY  DIGEST. 

There  are  many  new  uses  for  water:  It  will  not  be 
Jong  before  every  truck  and  every  commercial  flower 
garden  will  have  overhead  irrigation.  This  is  merely 
gas  pipes  ("seconds"  rejected  for  blow  holes  or  po- 
rosity are  usually  used)  supported  on  posts  say  six  feet 
above  the  ground.  They  are  usually  placed  parallel  about 
fifty  feet  apart,  which  will  make  four  to  the  acre  square, 
and  have  a  single  row  of  holes  and  a  handle  on  each  pipe, 
so  that  the  spray  can  be  turned  in  either  direction ;  with  a 
high-water  pressure,  often  supplied  by  gravity,  they  may  be 
farther  apart  with  larger  holes. 

These  not  only  have  saved  us  from  fear  of  drought,  but 
they  supply  the  moisture  in  the  natural  manner  and  at  the 
right  time  and  increase  fertility  to  an  astonishing  degree. 

When  you  take  a  shower  bath  yourself,  that  is  overhead 
irrigation. 

The  gasoline,  kerosene,  or  heavy  oil  one  man  farm  tractor, 
so  made  that  it  can  be  used  to  plow,  to  climb  a  side  hill, 
to  run  a  saw  or  a  pump,  is  the  coming  factor  in  garden  and 
farm  advance.  Huge  fortune  awaits  the  first  manufacturer 
who  will  standardize  it,  cheapen  it,  and  specialize  on  it.  The 
horse  is  the  greatest  care  and  the  greatest  risk  on  the  little 
farm.  He  costs  more  than  a  tractor  would,  he  is  eating  his 
head  off  hah*  the  time,  he  can't  be  worked  overtime  without 
injury,  not  even  as  much  as  a  man  can  be ;  all  too  soon  he 
dies,  more  missed  than  any  member  of  the  family. 

When  this  is  popularized  the  "Three  Acres"  can  well  be 
extended  to  five. 


By  permission  of  House  and  Garden  Magazine. 
THE  SMALLEST  FA  KM  TKACTOR 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

SOME  EXPERIMENTAL  FOODS 

FIFTY-EIGHT  years  ago  Abraham  Lincoln  said : 
"Population  must  increase  rapidly,  more  rapidly  than  in 
former  times,  and  ere  long  the  most  valuable  of  all  arts  will 
be  the  art  of  deriving  subsistence  from  the  smallest  area  of 
soil.  No  community  whose  every  member  possesses  this 
art  can  ever  be  the  victim  of  oppression  in  any  of  its  forms. 
Such  community  will  alike  be  independent  of  crowned  kings, 
money  kings,  and  land  kings." 

The  future,  it  seems,  has  many  strange  dishes  hi  store  for 
the  American  stomach.  Whether  you  are  rich  or  one  of 
the  plain  people  that  have  to  work,  whether  the  idea  of  new 
fantastic  food  appeals  to  your  palate  or  to  your  pocket- 
book,  you  will  be  attracted  by  the  array  of  foreign  viands 
with  curious  names  which  have  already  been  successfully 
introduced  and  are  now  beginning  to  be  marketed  in  this 
country.  Mr.  William  N.  Taft,  in  the  Technical  World 
Magazine,  presents  the  following  wild  menu  for  the  dinner 
table: 

Jujube  Soup 

Brisket  of  Antelope 

Boiled  Petsai  Dasheen  au  Gratin 

Creamed  Udo 
Soy  Bean  and  Lichee  Nut  Salad 

Yang  Taw  Pie 

Mangoes  Kaki 

Sake. 
231 


232  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

This,  he  assures  us,  is  not  the  bill  of  fare  of  a  Chinese  eat- 
ing house,  nor  yet  of  a  Japanese  restaurant,  it  is  the  daily 
meal  of  an  American  family  two  decades  hence,  if  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  succeeds  in  its  attempt  to  introduce 
a  large  number  of  new  foods  to  this  country  for  the  dual 
purpose  of  supplying  new  dainties  and  reducing  the  cost  of 
living.  Uncle  Sam  has  determined  to  decrease  the  price  of 
food  as  much  as  possible,  and,  for  this  purpose,  delegated 
Dr.  David  S.  Fairchild,  Agricultural  Explorer  in  charge 
of  the  Foreign  Plant  Section  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry, 
in  particular,  to  see  what  can  be  done  about  it. 

More  than  30,000  fruits  and  vegetables  have  been  tested 
by  Uncle  Sam's  experts  and,  according  to  Dr.  Fairchild,  a 
goodly  portion  of  the  foodstuffs  which  have  been  regarded  as 
staples  since  the  days  of  the  first  settler  are  doomed.  Con- 
sider for  example  "Jujube  Soup!"  Mention  that  to  the 
average  person  and  he  will  answer :  "  But  I  thought  the  ju- 
jube was  a  fruit,  like  an  apple.  How  can  you  make  soup  of 
it?"  The  average  person  is  right.  The  jujube  is  a  fruit  — 
but  a  most  remarkable  one. 

"It  is  about  the  size  and  appearance  of  a  crab  apple,  but  con- 
tains only  a  single  seed.  It  grows  on  a  spiny  tree,  long  and  bare  of 
trunk,  with  its  foliage  cropping  out  at  the  very  top  like  a  royal 
palm  of  the  tropics.  The  jujube  itself  has  been  used  for  years  to 
flavor  candies  and  other  confections.  But  the  essence  is  very 
expensive  and  comparatively  rare,  despite  the  profusion  with  which 
the  fruit  grows  in  its  native  habitat. 

"Dr.  Fairchild,  however,  imported  several  specimens  for  the 
Department's  gardens  in  California,  where  they  are  bearing  pro- 
liflcally.  The  arid  sands  of  the  southwest,  where  nothing  but  cactus 
and  sage-brush  formerly  would  grow,  have  been  found  to  be  excel- 
lent soil  for  the  jujube,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  Uncle  Sam's  food  ex- 
perts to  see  the  entire  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  deserts  dotted  with 
jujube  orchards,  with  income  to  their  owners.  The  jujube  is  deli- 
cious eaten  raw,  but  it  may  be  cooked  in  any  manner  in  which 


SOME  EXPERIMENTAL  FOODS  233 

apples  are  prepared,  used  as  a  sauce  or  for  pie,  preserved  or  dried. 
Finally,  its  juice  may  be  used  as  a  delicious  and  highly  nutritive 
fruit  broth." 

Petsai,  or,  as  the  Chinese  have  it,  Pe-tsai,  is  a  substitute 
for  the  cabbage.  In  appearance  it  is  as  different  from 
cabbage  as  can  be  imagined.  It  is  tall  and  cylindrical  and 
its  leaves  are  narrow,  delicately  curled,  with  frilled  edges. 
The  petsai  can,  however,  be  grown  on  any  soil  where  the 
ordinary  cabbage  could  be  cultivated  and  in  many  sections 
where  the  native  vegetable  would  languish.  We  are  told 
it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  petsai  to  reach  sixty  pounds 
in  weight.  Department  of  Agriculture  officials,  however, 
advise  that  it  be  plucked  when  about  eight  pounds  in  weight, 
its  flavor  being  then  the  most  delicate  and  appealing. 

This  new  importation,  Uncle  Sam's  experts  hope,  will 
cause  a  drop  in  the  price  of  dinners.  Cabbage  long  ago 
ceased  to  be  a  cheap  dish.  But  petsai  requires  none  of  the 
care  which  has  to  be  lavished  on  cabbage  and  will  thrive  in 
almost  any  climate  and  any  soil. 

The  soy  bean,  once  started,  grows  wild  and  yields  several 
crops  a  season.  It  can  be  prepared  in  a  multitude  of 
ways,  from  baking  to  a  delicious  salad.  According  to 
Doctor  Yamei  Kin,  the  head  of  the  Women's  Medical 
School  near  Pekin,  milk  can  be  made  from  it  to  cost  about  six 
cents  a  quart  and  equal  to  cows'  milk.  It  would  be  a  bless- 
ing if  we  could  get  rid  of  the  sacred  but  unclean  cow.  One 
of  the  state  dairy  inspectors  told  me,  "We  consider  milk  a 
filthy  product." 

It  may  be  remembered  that,  only  twenty  years  ago, 
almost  all  the  dates  consumed  here  came  from  the  oases 
of  Arabia  and  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  To-day  there 
are  more  than  a  hundred  varieties  successfully  produced 


234  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

in  California  and  Arizona.  The  wonders  of  to-day  are 
the  commonplaces  of  to-morrow,  and  there  is  no  telling  to 
what  apparently  impossible  lengths  science  will  go  to  re- 
jlieve  people  of  the  burden  they  now  bear  in  the  price  of 
food.  It  has  scoured  the  ends  of  the  earth  for  new  deli- 
cacies and  now  experts  will  do  their  best  to  teach  the  people 
to  use  them. 

Have  you  ever  heard  of  "Whitloof"  or  "Belgian  Chicory" 
or  have  you  ever  dined  in  one  of  the  better  restaurants  of  a 
large  city  where  they  have  served  during  the  winter  months 
a  salad  composed  of  golden  blanched  oblong  leaves  about  2 
inches  wide  and  5  inches  long,  only  the  outer  edges  showing  a 
faint  green?  It  is  as  delicate  as  the  perfume  of  roses,  as 
crisp  as  young  lettuce,  as  delicious  as  asparagus,  and  as 
ornamental  upon  the  table  as  the  freshest  fruit. 

In  former  years  this  salad  had  to  be  imported  and  you  had 
to  pay  dear  for  a  portion  of  it,  a  good  reason  why  so  few 
people  know  it.  A  Belgian  farmer  located  near  New  York 
has  grown  many  thousands  of  these  plants  this  past 
summer. 

How  would  you  like  to  grow  this  dainty  salad  right  in 
your  living  room  and  cut  several  crops  from  a  single  plant- 
ing lasting  nearly  three  months  ?  Secure  an  8-inch  pot  and 
plant  in  it  12  roots  packed  in  light  sandy  soil  or  pure  sand. 
Invert  another  but  empty  8-inch  pot  over  this  to  keep  out 
the  light,  place  in  a  heated  room,  water  daily,  and  in  from 
three  to  four  weeks  you  will  find  full-grown  crowns,  beauti- 
fully blanched  ready  for  cutting.  Six  of  such  crowns  make 
a  large  portion,  sufficient  for  an  entire  family. 

In  cutting,  do  not  cut  too  close  to  the  root,  for  another 
growth  is  made  directly  after  the  cutting,  which  matures  in 
from  three  to  four  weeks,  and  still  two  other  crops  can  be 


SOME  EXPERIMENTAL^  FOODS  235 

grown  in  this  way,  so  that  from  a  single  planting  four  full 
crops  can  be  had.  Considering,  then,  that  eight  such  treats 
can  be  had  for  the  cost  of  a  single  dozen  roots,  we  can  all 
now  enjoy  what  was  formerly  a  luxury.  This  method  is 
most  interesting,  for  you  can  watch  the  daily  progress  of  the 
growth  of  the  roots,  fascinating  to  young  and  old,  and  with 
three  weekly  plantings  of  a  pot  each  this  treat  can  be  en- 
joyed twice  a  week  from  the  1st  of  February  until  May. 

For  those  who  wish  to  enjoy  it  more  often  or  in  larger 
quantities,  we  suggest  the  following : 

Prepare  a  bed  of  soil  12  inches  deep  in  your  cellar  in  a 
dark  place  where  the  temperature  is  always  above  freezing. 
Plant  the  roots  as  close  as  their  size  will  permit  and  cover 
the  crowns  with  at  least  3  inches  of  soil.  On  top  of  this  put 
straw  so  that  when  the  crowns  come  through  the  soil  they 
will  not  strike  the  light.  When  ready  to  cut,  remove  the 
soil  as  far  back  as  the  original  root  so  that  you  can  intelli- 
gently cut  the  growth  to  produce  the  crops  to  follow. 

As  a  substitute  for  the  potato  of  commerce  the  "Dasheen" 
long  ago  passed  the  experimental  stage.  It  has  been  served 
at  a  number  of  banquets  in  Washington,  Philadelphia,  and 
New  York. 

While  the  tops  of  potatoes  are  useless  as  food,  the  tops  of 
the  dasheen  make  delicious  greens,  and  tests  indicate  that 
good  growers  can  depend  on  a  crop  of  from  four  hundred  to 
four  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  per  acre. 

The  Udo  is  the  plant  intended  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  as  a  substitute  for  asparagus,  a  delicacy  which 
it  closely  resembles.  It  is  more  prolific  than  asparagus, 
grows  in  the  same  soil,  and  requires  less  attention. 

Not  only  plants  but  animals  are  experimented  with  by 
Uncle  Sam's  experts.  Officials  of  the  Bureau  of  Annual 


236  THREE  ACRES   AND  LIBERTY 

Industry  claim  that  before  long  we  will  partake  of  antelope 
steak.  For  the  antelope  has  been  found  to  be  particularly 
adapted  to  the  more  arid  western  sections  of  the  country. 
And  beyond  that  the  gastronomist  of  the  future  will  have  to 
reckon  with  loin  of  hippopotamus  !  The  lower  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  is  admirably  suited  to  these  huge  beasts,  the 
flesh  of  one  of  which  equals  a  score  of  cattle.  African- 
traveled  epicures  maintain  that  hippopotamus  steak  is  as 
tender  and  inviting  as  the  choicest  beef.  "For  those  who 
like  that  sort  of  thing,  it  is  just  the  sort  of  thing  they  would 
like." 

It  seems  a  bit  remote  to  urge  hippopotamus  on  us  who 
do  not  yet  know  enough  to  eat  sharks,  tortoises,  painted 
turtles,  or  even  English  sparrows.  Anyhow  the  small 
gardener  is  more  likely  to  succeed  raising  pheasants  than 
to  muss  with  a  hippopotamus,  at  least  in  the  suburbs.  Pigs 
are  more  practical  and  make  prettier  pets. 

Our  population  bids  fair  to  approximate  two  hundred 
million  within  the  next  fifty  years,  and,  because  of  the  exi- 
gencies of  business,  an  increasing  number  of  people  will  be 
engaged  in  non-food-producing  vocations.  These  people, 
however,  are  all  consumers  and  must  be  fed  and  clothed, 
and  even  now  America  offers  the  greatest  market  for  the 
produce  of  the  farm  that  any  farmer  in  any  country  has  ever 
had  in  all  history. 

One  of  the  coming  ways  of  feeding  them  is  the  discovery 
and  use  of  new  foods.  As  in  other  things,  after  the  war, 
whether  we  live  in  a  better  world  or  not,  we  shall  live  in  an 
entirely  different  world,  new  ways,  strange  thoughts,  and 
other  foods.  For  the  most  of  the  following,  Business 
America  and  Current  Opinion  are  responsible. 

For  the  creation  of  new  crop  varieties  or  the  improvement 


SOME  EXPERIMENTAL  FOODS  237 

of  those  now  in  use  we  must  depend  upon  the  practical 
scientists  who  are  engaged  in  plant  breeding.  The  work  of 
one  of  these,  Professor  Buffum,  has  been  accomplished  in  a 
region  that  is  apparently  sterile  and  where  plants  grow 
only  by  coaxing  through  artificial  moisture. 

His  plant-breeding  farms  near  Worland  in  the  Big  Horn 
Basin  of  Northern  Wyoming  lie  at  an  elevation  of  4000 
feet,  in  a  region  of  almost  total  natural  aridity. 

After  twenty  years'  work  in  Western  agricultural  colleges 
and  Government  Experiment  Stations,  Professor  Buffum 
chose  his  present  location  because  nowhere  in  the  United 
States  could  he  find  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  that  induce 
to  such  a  remarkable  degree  the  breaking  up  of  species,  and 
mutation  or  "sporting"  of  plants. 

When  the  modern  plant  breeder  seeks  to  produce  some- 
thing new  by  cross-fertilization  a  problem  is  encountered. 
For  many  years  we  were  ignorant  of  the  principle  upon  which 
nature  operated  in  these  hybrids  or  crosses.  Finally  a 
Bohemian  priest  named  Mendel  discovered  the  law.  The 
central  principle  is  that  when  the  seed  produced  from  a 
cross  between  two  different  species  is  planted,  the  progeny 
breaks  up  into  well-defined  groups.  A  certain  percentage 
of  the  plants  resemble  one  of  the  parents,  a  smaller  per- 
centage are  like  the  other  parent,  and  the  rest  seem  to  be  a 
blend  of  both  parents.  These  intermediates  will  not  breed 
true  to  themselves,  however;  if  seed  from  them  is  planted 
the  progeny  will  split  up  into  groups,  showing  the  same 
percentages  as  the  first  generation  to  which  they  belonged. 
This  has  been  generally  accepted  by  scientists. 

In  many  of  his  productions  Professor  Buffum  apparently 
has  set  the  Mendelian  law  at  defiance,  for,  by  cross-fertiliza- 
tion, he  has  evolved  plants  which  breed  true  to  themselves, 


238  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

and  their  progeny  does  not  break  up  into  groups,  according 
to  the  accepted  theory.  They  show  specimens  resembling 
each  parent,  with  the  third  composed  of  seemingly,  but  not 
really,  blended  specimens. 

These  results  are  particularly  vital  in  the  development  of 
plants  adapted  by  selection  for  semi-arid  agriculture.  The 
Professor  believes  that  the  great  areas  of  high  plain  country 
to  be  found  from  Canada  to  Mexico  can  be  made  more  pro- 
ductive through  planting  crop  varieties  that  have  been  bred 
to  withstand  the  existing  conditions  which  produce  meagre 
returns  from  the  vast  expanse  of  territory  under  the  present 
methods. 

In  place  of  corn,  which  is  difficult  to  mature  even  at 
moderate  elevations,  Professor  Buffum  has  introduced  un- 
proved emmers  and  the  various  hybrids  resulting  from 
crosses  with  other  grains. 

Emmer  itself  is  not  a  new  grain,  having  been  grown  for  cen- 
turies in  Russia  and  southern  Europe,  and  it  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  corn  of  Pliny,  which  he  said  was  used  by  the  Latins 
for  several  centuries  before  they  knew  how  to  make  bread. 

Several  years  ago  emmer  began  receiving  attention  as  a 
stock  food.  The  first  planting  of  the  grain  at  Worland  re- 
sulted in  some  exceptional  "sports,"  seemingly  of  a  different 
type,  with  coarse  straw  and  very  large  heads.  With  this  as 
a  basis,  the  seed  was  replanted  and  subjected  to  many  experi- 
ments to  increase  its  drouth  and  winter  resisting  qualities. 
Continued  selections  have  shown,  a  yield  of  from  a  third 
more  to  twice  as  much  as  corn,  that  it  is  thirty  per  cent 
more  valuable  than  oats  for  feeding  horses,  and  that  for 
stock  fattening  it  is  equal  to  corn,  pound  for  pound.  It 
is  the  most  drouth-resistant  and  prolific  of  small  grains, 
has  been  successfully  raised  from  Montana  to  Mexico,  and 


SOME  EXPERIMENTAL  FOODS  239 

is  being  planted  in  Louisiana  to  replace  oats  because  it  is  not 
affected  by  rust. 

Some  of  the  yields  recorded  are  enormous,  varying  from 
40  to  104  bushels  per  acre  under  dry  farming,  and  as  high 
as  152  bushels  under  irrigation. 

One  stalk  of  Turkey  red  wheat  was  noticed  as  differing  in 
many  ways  from  all  varieties,  principally  that  the  head  was 
over  eight  inches  in  length,  whereas  the  ordinary  Turkey 
red  wheat  commonly  used  in  the  West  has  a  head  of  only 
four  or  five  inches. 

From  this  one  stalk  has  been  developed  the  Buffum  No. 
17  Winter  wheat.  The  heavy  beards  were  eliminated  and 
the  grains  or  kernels  in  each  spikelet  increased  from  the  nor- 
mal number  of  three  to  five,  seven,  and  even  nine.  The 
hardiness  of  the  new  variety,  together  with  its  remarkably 
large  head,  means  that  when  it  is  placed  on  the  market  the 
farmers  who  sow  it  need  not  fear  winter  killing  and  will 
have  a  splendid  flouring  grain,  which  will  produce  nearly 
double  the  average  crop  per  acre. 

It  is  said  that  if  a  single  kernel  could  be  added  to  each 
head  of  wheat,  the  increase  in  annual  production  of  this 
country  would  amount  to  over  fifteen  million  bushels. 

If  fodder  crops  can  be  substituted  for  a  part  of  the  corn 
now  used  for  stock,  it  will  be  a  great  gain. 

In  his  alfalfa-breeding  garden,  Professor  Buffum  is  raising 
over  seventy  different  kinds,  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  showing  that  the  plant  is  capable  of  wide  variations. 
One  hybrid  has  been  obtained  by  crossing  sweet  clover  with 
alfalfa ;  the  clover  grows  wild  in  every  state  in  the  Union. 

There  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  man's  ingenuity  and  skill  in 
plant  improvement.  Perhaps  sometime  we  will  try  it  with 
our  children. 


240  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

In  thirty  years  an  exceptional  ear  of  dent  corn,  through 
continued  planting  and  careful  selection  each  succeeding 
season,  resulted  in  a  few  days'  shortening  of  the  growing 
period  and  an  increased  resistance  to  the  cool  nights  of  the 
higher  elevation  where  it  was  under  improvement;  to-day 
this  corn  matures  about  the  middle  of  August  at  an  altitude 
of  4000  feet,  and  has  been  yielding  forty  to  sixty  bushels 
per  acre. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

DRIED  TRUCK 

As  a  war  measure  the  surplus  vegetables  in  many  city 
markets  have  been  forced  by  the  governments  into  large 
municipal  drying  plants.  Community  driers  have  been 
established  in  the  trucking  regions  and  even  itinerant  drying 
machines  have  been  sent  from  farm  to  farm  drying  the 
vegetables  which  otherwise  would  have  gone  to  waste. 

The  drying  of  vegetables  may  seem  strange  to  the  present 
generation,  but  we  are  very  young;  to  our  grandmothers 
it  was  no  novelty.  Many  housewives  even  to-day  prefer 
dried  sweet  corn  to  the  canned,  and  find  also  that  dried 
pumpkin  and  squash  are  excellent  for  pie  making.  Snap 
beans  often  are  strung  on  threads  and  dried  above  the  stove. 
Cherries  and  raspberries  still  are  dried  on  bits  of  bark  for 
use  instead  of  raisins. 

This  country  is  producing  large  quantities  of  perishable 
foods  every  year,  which  should  be  saved  for  storage,  canned, 
or  properly  dried.  Drying  is  not  a  panacea  for  the  waste 
evil,  nor  should  it  take  the  place  of  storing  or  canning  to 
any  considerable  extent  where  proper  storage  facilities  are 
available  or  tin  cans  or  glass  jars  can  be  obtained  cheap. 

For  the  farmer's  wife  the  new  methods  of  canning  are 
probably  better  than  sun  drying,  which  requires  a  somewhat 
longer  time.  But  dried  material  can  be  stored  in  recep- 
tacles which  cannot  be  used  for  canning.  Then,  too,  canned 
fruit  and  vegetables  freeze  and  cannot  be  shipped  as  con- 
R  241 


242  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

veniently  in  winter.  Dried  vegetables  can  be  compacted 
and  shipped  or  stored  with  a  minimum  of  risk.  String 
them  up  to  the  ceiling  of  the  storeroom  or  attic. 

A  few  apples  or  sweet  potatoes  or  peas  or  even  a  single 
turnip  can  be  dried  and  saved.  Even  when  very  small 
quantities  are  dried  at  a  time,  a  quantity  sufficient  for  a  meal 
will  soon  be  secured.  Small  lots  of  dried  vegetables,  such 
as  cabbage,  carrots,  turnips,  potatoes,  and  onions,  can  be 
combined  to  advantage  for  soups  and  stews. 

In  general,  most  fruits  or  vegetables,  to  be  dried  quickly, 
must  first  be  shredded  or  cut  into  slices,  because  many  are 
too  large  to  dry  quickly,  or  have  skins  the  purpose  of  which 
is  to  prevent  drying  out.  If  the  air  applied  at  first  is  too 
hot,  the  cut  surfaces  of  the  sliced  fruits  or  vegetables  become 
hard,  or  scorched,  covering  the  juicy  interior  so  that  it  will 
not  dry.  Generally  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  temperature 
in  drying  should  go  above  140°  to  150°  F.,  and  it  is  better 
to  keep  it  well  below  this  point.  Insects  and  insect  eggs 
are  killed  by  the  heat. 

It  is  important  to  know  the  degree  of  heat  in  the  drier, 
and  this  cannot  be  determined  accurately  except  by  a  ther- 
mometer. Inexpensive  oven  thermometers  can  be  found 
on  the  market,  or  an  ordinary  chemical  thermometer  can  be 
suspended  in  the  drier. 

Drying  of  certain  products  can  be  completed  in  some 
driers  within  two  or  three  hours.  When  sufficiently  done 
they  should  be  so  dry  that  water  cannot  be  pressed  out  of 
the  freshly  cut  pieces,  they  should  not  show  any  of  the  natural 
grain  of  the  fruit  on  being  broken,  and  yet  not  be  so  dry 
as  to  snap  or  crackle.  They  should  be  leathery  and  pliable. 

When  freshly  cut  fruits  or  vegetables  are  spread  out  they 
immediately  begin  to  evaporate  moisture  into  the  air,  and 


DRIED  TRUCK  243 

if  in  a  closed  box  will  very  soon  saturate  the  air  with  mois- 
ture. This  will  slow  down  the  rate  of  drying  and  lead  to 
the  formation  of  molds.  If  a  current  of  dry  air  is  blown 
over  them  continually,  the  water  in  them  will  evaporate 
steadily  until  they  are  dry  and  crisp.  Certain  products, 
especially  raspberries,  should  not  be  dried  hard,  because  if 
too  much  moisture  is  removed  from  them  they  will  not 
resume  their  original  form  when  soaked  in  water. 

The  rotary  hand  slicer  is  adapted  for  use  on  a  very  wide 
range  of  material.  Don't  slice  your  hand  with  it. 

From  an  eighth  to  a  quarter  of  an  inch  is  a  fair  thickness 
for  most  of  the  common  vegetables  to  be  sliced.  To  secure 
fine  quality,  much  depends  upon  having  the  vegetables 
absolutely  fresh,  young,  tender,  and  perfectly  clean ;  one 
decayed  root  may  flavor  several  kettles  of  soup  if  the  slices 
from  it  are  scattered  through  a  batch  of  material. 
High-grade  "root"  vegetables  can  only  be  made  from  peeled 
roots. 

Blanching  consists  of  plunging  the  vegetables  into  boiling 
water  for  a  short  time.  Use  a  wire  basket  or  cheesecloth 
bag  for  this.  After  blanching  as  many  minutes  as  is  needed, 
drain  well  and  remove  the  surface  moisture  from  vegetables 
by  placing  them  between  two  towels  or  by  exposing  them 
to  the  sun  and  air  for  a  short  time. 

A  mosquito  net  is  thrown  over  the  product  to  protect 
the  slices  from  flies  and  other  insects.  Fruits  and  vegetables, 
when  dried  in  the  sun,  generally  are  spread  on  large  trays 
of  uniform  size  which  can  be  stacked  one  on  top  of  the  other 
and  protected  from  rain  by  covers  made  of  oilcloth,  canvas, 
or  roofing  paper. 

A  very  cheap  tray  can  be  made  of  lath  three  fourths  of 
an  inch  thick  and  2  inches  wide,  which  form  the  sides  and 


244  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

ends  of  a  box,  and  smoothed  lath  which  is  nailed  on  to  form 
the  bottom.  As  builders'  laths  are  4  feet  long,  these  lath 
trays  are  most  economical  of  material  when  made  4  feet  in 
length. 

A  cheap  and  very  satisfactory  drier  for  use  over  the 
kitchen  stove  can  be  made  by  any  handy  man  of  small-mesh 
galvanized-wire  netting  and  laths  or  strips  of  wood  about 
$  inch  thick  and  2  inches  wide.  By  using  two  laths  nailed 
together  the  framework  can  be  stiffened  and  larger  trays 
made  if  desirable.  This  form  can  be  suspended  from  the 
ceiling  over  the  kitchen  range  or  over  a  clear  burning  oil, 
gasoline,  or  gas  stove,  and  it  will  utilize  the  hot  air  which 
rises  during  the  cooking  hour.  It  can  be  raised  out  of  the 
way  or  swung  to  one  side  by  a  pulley  or  by  a  crane  made  of 
lath.  When  the  stove  is  required  for  cooking,  the  frame  is 
lowered  or  swung  back  to  utilize  the  heat  which  otherwise 
would  be  wasted.  Still  another  home  drier  is  the  cookstove 
oven.  Bits  of  food,  left  overs,  especially  sweet  corn,  can  be 
dried  on  plates  in  a  very  slow  oven  or  on  the  back  of  the  cook- 
stove  and  saved  for  winter  use. 

Where  the  electric  "juice"  is  not  monopolized,  an  electric 
fan  in  drying  is  economical,  especially  for  those  who  already 
have  a  fan. 

Many  sliced  fruits  placed  in  long  trays  3  by  1  foot  and 
stacked  in  two  tiers,  end  to  end,  before  an  electric  fan  can 
be  dried  within  twenty-four  hours.  Some  require  much 
less  time.  For  instance,  sliced  string  beans  and  shredded 
sweet  potatoes  will  dry  before  a  fan  running  at  a  moderate 
speed  within  a  few  hours. 

The  dried  fruit  or  vegetables  must  be  protected  from  in- 
sects and  rodents,  also  from  the  outside  moisture,  and  will 
keep  best  in  a  cool,  dry,  well-ventilated  place.  In  the  more 


DRIED  TRUCK  245 

humid  regions,  moisture-tight  containers  should  be  used.  If 
a  small  amount  of  dried  product  is  put  in  each  receptacle, 
just  enough  for  one  or  two  meals,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
open  a  large  container. 

Your  American  ingenuity  and  the  American  practice  of 
reading  will  show  you  a  lot  of  ways  of  saving  waste :  for 
example,  frozen  potatoes  are  not  necessarily  spoiled,  we  are 
told  by  Mr.  de  Ronsic,  a  writer  in  the  Receil  Agricole.  They 
may  be  dried  and  then  cooked  as  usual.  The  Revue 
Scientifique  (Paris),  abstracting  the  article  in  question,  says : 

"The  potatoes  must  be  dried  to  prevent  decomposition, 
which  takes  place  very  rapidly  after  they  have  thawed  out. . . . 

"The  oven  should  be  heated  as  for  baking  bread.  Then, 
when  it  has  reached  the  necessary  temperature,  which  is 
easily  recognized,  the  potatoes  are  put  in,  cutting  up  the 
largest.  They  are  spread  out  in  a  layer  so  that  evaporation 
may  easily  take  place,  the  door  of  the  oven  being  left  open. 
From  time  to  time  the  mass  is  stirred  up  with  a  poker  to 
facilitate  the  evaporation.  When  the  drying  has  gone  far 
enough,  the  potatoes  having  become  hard  as  bits  of  wood, 
they  are  withdrawn  to  make  room  for  others. 

"  Potatoes  thus  dried  may  be  boiled  with  enough  water  to 
make  a  paste  similar  to  that  which  they  would  have  furnished 
if  mashed  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  which  will  answer 
very  well,  at  least  to  feed  stock.  The  potatoes  will  be  found 
to  have  lost  none  of  their  nutritive  value." 

Even  if  you  haven't  any  acres  —  yet,  there  isn't  any  law 
against  drying  in  the  city.  Either  in  sales  or  in  saving  it  will 
help  to  pay  for  the  country  place  later  and  the  country  place 
can  be  made  to  pay  it  back  again. 

Call  your  product  say  "Landers'  Desiccated  Beans"  or 
"Glory's  Dehydrated  Corn."  They  will  sell  better,  they 


246  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

may  even  taste  better,  trying  to  live  up  to  the  description. 
There's  dollars  in  a  name. 

As  a  preservative  ice  must  not  be  neglected.  The  Country 
Gentleman  says: 

While  the  temperature  is  below  the  freezing  point  we 
should  take  advantage  of  even  short  frosts  to  lay  up  ice  for 
next  summer.  The  man  without  an  ice  pond  need  not  be 
without  ice  —  he  can  freeze  it  in  pans  outdoors.  An  ice 
plant  of  this  sort  will  cost  from  fifteen  to  twenty  dollars. 

A  double  tank  should  be  made  of  galvanized  iron.  The 
inner  compartment  of  this  tank  should  be  ten  feet  long, 
two  feet  wide,  and  twelve  inches  deep.  The  top  of  the  tank 
should  be  slightly  wider  than  the  bottom.  The  inner  tank 
should  be  divided  into  six  compartments  by  means  of  gal- 
vanized iron  strips.  The  double  tank  should  be  placed  near 
the  outdoor  pump,  or  stream,  where  it  can  easily  be  filled. 

Being  exposed  on  all  sides,  the  water  will  freeze  in  from  one 
hour  to  three  hours.  A  bucket  of  hot  water  poured  into  the 
space  between  the  tanks  will  loosen  the  cakes  of  ice,  each 
weighing  200  pounds.  Four  tons  of  ice  will  last  the  average 
family  a  year.  The  cakes  may  be  packed  away  in  the  ice- 
house as  they  are  frozen. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

HOME  COLD-PACK  CANNING 

To  save  vegetables  and  fruits  by  canning  is  a  patriotic 
duty.  The  war  makes  the  need  for  food  conservation  more 
imperative  than  at  any  time  in  history.  America  is  mainly 
responsible  for  the  food  supply  of  the  world.  In  this  way 
the  abundance  of  the  summer  may  be  made  to  supply  the 
needs  of  the  winter. 

By  the  modern  cold-pack  method  it  is  as  easy  to  can  vege- 
tables as  to  can  fruits.  Some  authorities  say  it  is  easier. 
At  any  rate,  it  is  more  useful. 

In  the  cold-pack  method  of  canning,  sterilization  does 
away  with  the  danger  of  spoilage  by  fermentation  or  "work- 
ing." Sterilization  consists  in  raising  the  temperature  of 
the  filled  jar  or  can  to  a  germ-killing  point  and  holding  it 
there  until  bacterial  life  is  destroyed. 

The  word  "  container "  is  used  to  designate  either  the 
tin  can  or  the  glass  jar. 

Single-period  cold-pack  canning,  as  distinguished  from 
old-fashioned  preserving,  offers  a  saving  in  time,  labor,  and 
expense,  and  satisfactory  results.  As  the  foodstuffs  are 
placed  in  the  containers  before  sterilization,  they  are  cold 
and  may  be  handled  quickly  and  easily.  Then  the  steri- 
lization period  is  frequently  short.  This  is  tune-saving. 
Finally,  no  rich  preservatives,  such  as  thick  syrups  or  heavily 
spiced  solutions,  are  required.  Fruits  may  be  put  up  in 

247 


248  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

thin  syrups.  Vegetables  require  only  salt  for  flavoring  and 
water  to  fill  the  container. 

Another  advantage  of  this  method  is  that  it  is  practicable 
to  put  up  food  in  small  quantities.  It  pays  to  put  up  even 
a  single  container.  Thus,  when  there  is  a  small  surplus  of 
some  garden  crop,  or  something  left  over  from  the  order 
from  the  grocer's,  one  can  take  the  short  time  necessary  to 
place  this  food  in  a  container  and  store  it  for  future  use. 
This  is  true  household  efficiency  —  the  kind  which,  if  prac- 
ticed on  a  national  scale,  will  conserve  our  war  food  supply 
and  will,  after  the  war,  cut  heavily  into  the  high  cost  of  living. 

There  are  five  principal  methods  of  canning :  (1)  the  cold- 
pack,  single-period  method;  (2)  the  intermittent,  or  frac- 
tional sterilization  method ;  (3)  the  cold-water  method ; 
(4)  the  open  kettle  or  hot-pack  method;  and  (5)  the 
vacuum-seal  method.  Of  these  the  one  worked  out  on  sci- 
entific lines  by  leading  experts  and  used  by  many  com- 
mercial canners  is  so  much  the  best  method  for  home  canning, 
because  of  its  simplicity  and  effectiveness,  that  it  is  recom- 
mended by  the  National  Emergency  Food  Commission  and 
the  details  are  explained  in  then*  manual. 

The  cold-water  method  can  be  used  effectively  in  putting 
up  rhubarb,  green  gooseberries,  and  a  few  other  sour  berry 
fruits.  The  process  is  simple.  The  fruit  is  first  prepared 
and  washed  and  then  blanched,  and  finally  packed  practi- 
cally raw  in  containers,  which  are  next  filled  with  cold  water 
and  then  sealed.  Some  sour  fruits  packed  in  this  way  will 
keep  indefinitely. 

A  serviceable  outfit  may  be  made  of  materials  found  in 
any  household.  All  that  is  necessary  is  a  vessel  to  hold  the 
jars  or  cans  —  such  as  a  wash  boiler  or  a  large  tin  pail. 
This  should  have  a  tight-fitting  cover.  Provide  a  false  bot- 


HOME  COLD-PACK  CANNING  249 

torn  of  wood  or  a  wire  rack  to  allow  for  free  circulation  of 
water  under  the  containers. 

While  suburban  gardeners  with  large  surplus  of  vegetables 
find  it  desirable  to  use  tin  cans,  being  more  easily  handled 
for  commercial  purposes,  most  of  us  find  glass  jars  the  more 
satisfactory  and  economical  containers  for  canned  vegetables 
and  fruits.  This  is  especially  true  when  there  is  a  shortage 
of  tin  cans.  All  types  of  jars  that  seal  perfectly  may  be  used. 
Use  may  be  made  of  those  to  which  one  is  accustomed  or 
which  may  be  already  on  hand.  The  rubbers  must  be 
sound  but  the  glass  jars  may  be  used  indefinitely.  Glass 
jars  are  adapted  for  use  in  any  of  the  cold-pack  canning  out- 
fits. Be  sure  that  no  jar  is  defective. 

For  use  in  the  storing  of  products  which  are  already  steri- 
lized, such  as  jellies,  jams,  and  preserves,  and  the  bottling  of 
fruit  juices,  housewives  may  practice  effective  thrift  by  saving 
all  jars  in  which  they  receive  dried  beef,  bacon,  peanut  butter, 
and  other  products  and  bottles  that  have  contained  olives, 
catsup,  and  kindred  goods. 

Blanching  is  important  with  most  vegetables  and  many 
fruits.  It  consists  of  plunging  them  into  boiling  water  for  a 
short  tune.  Spinach  and  other  greens  should  be  blanched  in 
steam.  To  do  this,  place  them  in  an  ordinary  steamer  or 
suspend  them  in  a  tightly  closed  vessel  above  an  inch  or  two 
of  boiling  water. 

Blanching  should  be  followed  by  the  cold  dip,  plunging  into 
cold  water  after  removal  from  the  hot  water.  Cold  dipping 
hardens  the  pulp  and  preserves  the  original  color,  enhanc- 
ing the  appearance.  Blanching  cleanses  the  articles  and 
removes  excess  acids  and  strong  flavors  and  odors.  It  also 
causes  shrinkage,  so  that  a  larger  quantity  may  be  packed 
in  a  container.  After  blanching  and  cold  dipping,  surface 


250  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

moisture  should  be  removed  by  placing  the  vegetables  or 
fruits  between  two  towels  or  by  exposure  to  the  sun. 

All  this  is  so  simple  and  the  directions  so  easily  followed 
that  the  average  12-year-old  may  successfully  can  vegeta- 
bles or  fruits.  The  steps  and  the  precautions  are : 

1.  Select  sound  vegetables  and  fruits.     (If  possible  can 
them  the  same  day  they  are  picked.)     Wash,  clean,  and  pre- 
pare them. 

2.  Have  ready,  on  the  stove,  a  can  or  pail  of  boiling  water. 

3.  Place  the  vegetables  or  fruits  in  cheesecloth,  or   in 
some  other  porous  receptacle  —  a  wire  basket  is  excellent 
—  for  dipping  and  blanching  them  in  the  boiling  water. 

4.  Put  them  whole  into  the  boiling  water.    The  Com- 
mission gives  a  time-table  for  blanching.    After  the  water 
begins  to  boil,   begin  to  count  the  blanching  time;    this 
varies  from  one  to  twenty  minutes,  according  to  the  vege- 
table or  fruit. 

5.  When  the  blanching  is  complete,  remove  the  vegetables 
or  fruits  from  the  boiling  water  and  plunge  them  a  number  of 
times  into  cold  water,  to  harden  the  pulp  and  check  the  flow 
of  coloring  matter.    Do  not  leave  them  in  cold  water. 

6.  The  containers  must  be  thoroughly  clean.     It  is  not 
necessary  to  sterilize  them  in  steam  or  boiling  water  before 
filling  them,  as  in  the  cold-pack  process  both  the  insides  of 
containers  and  the  contents  are  sterilized.    The  jars  should 
be  heated  before  being  filled,  in  order  to  avoid  breakage. 

7.  Pack  the  product  into  the  containers,  leaving  about  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  of  space  at  the  top. 

8.  With  vegetables  add  one  level  teaspoonful  of  salt  to 
each  quart  container  and  fill  with  boiling  water.    With 
fruits  use  syrups. 

9.  With  glass  jars  always  use  a  good  rubber.    Test  the 


HOME  COLD-PACK  CANNING  251 

rubber  by  stretching  or  turning  inside  out.  Fit  on  the  rub- 
ber and  put  the  lid  hi  place.  If  the  container  has  a  screw 
top  do  not  screw  up  as  hard  as  possible,  but  use  only  the 
thumb  and  little  finger  in  tightening  it.  This  makes  it  pos- 
sible for  the  steam  to  escape  and  prevents  breakage.  If 
a  glass  top  jar  is  used,  snap  the  top  bail  only,  leaving  the 
lower  bail  loose  during  sterilization.  Tin  cans  should  be 
completely  sealed. 

10.  Place  the  filled  and  capped  containers  on  the  rack  in 
the  sterilizer.    If  the  homemade  or  commercial  hot-water 
bath  outfit  is  used,  enough  water  should  be  in  the  boiler  to 
come  at  least  one  inch  above  the  tops  of  the  containers,  and 
the  water,  in  boiling  out,  should  never  be  allowed  to  drop  to 
the  level  of  these  tops.    Begin  to  count  processing  time  when 
the  water  begins  to  boil. 

At  the  end  of  the  sterilizing  period  remove  the  containers 
from  the  sterilizer.  Fasten  covers  on  tightly  at  once,  turn 
the  containers  upside  down  to  test  for  leakage,  leave  in  this 
position  until  cold,  and  then  store  in  a  cool,  dry  place.  Be 
sure  that  no  draft  is  allowed  to  blow  on  glass  jars,  as  it  may 
cause  breakage. 

11.  If  jars  are  to  be  stored  where  there  is  strong  light, 
wrap  them  in  paper,  preferably  brown,  as  light  will  fade  the 
color  of  products  canned  in  glass  jars,  and  sometimes  de- 
teriorate the  food  value. 

That's  the  whole  trick. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

RETAIL  COOPERATION 

COOPERATION  in  buying  supplies  at  wholesale,  in 
standardizing  and  shipping  crops,  in  keeping  grain  in  eleva- 
tors, and  fruit  and  some  meats  and  poultry  in  cold  storage 
has  reached  a  high  development  among  the  farmers  largely 
in  the  Northwest,  much  ahead  of  us  "city  folks." 

There  are  more  than  five  thousand  active  Farmers'  Co- 
operation Associations  in  the  United  States.  Minnesota 
alone  has  over  six  hundred  cooperative  creameries,  some  of 
which  have  a  laundry  annex.  The  associations  have  six 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  members  and  do  a  business  of 
nearly  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  each  member.  These 
are  the  people  that  we  call  "hayseeds";  if  we  could  plant 
some  more  such  "seeds,"  it  would  be  a  good  job.  But  in 
cooperative  retail  domestic  supply  we  are  far  behind  England 
and  other  countries,  even  behind  Russia.  That  is  partly 
because  our  better  retail  business  methods  leave  less  room 
for  the  savings. 

A  simple  and  easy  but  important  beginning  of  cooperation 
was  where  each  one  took  turns  in  delivering  the  milk  and 
fetching  supplies.  One  farmer  might  do  it  all  every  day  for 
a  small  charge. 

The  new  South  is  developing  a  great  business  in  this  line. 
When  you  go  to  New  Orleans  look  up  the  stores  whose  letter 
head  reads: 

252 


RETAIL  COOPERATION  253 

NELSON  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIATION,  INC. 

Food  Suppliers 

OFFICE,   506   SO.    PETEES   STREET.       CREAMERY,   ERATO    ST. 

WAREHOUSE,  511  SO.  PETERS  ST.  BAKERY,  ELYSIAN  FIELDS  AVE. 

61  RETAIL  STORES 
4  MEAT  MARKETS 

In  August,  1917,  N.  O.  Nelson  of  the  above  concern 
writes  in  answer  to  my  request : 

"It  does  not  take  2500  words  to  tell  all  I  know  about 
Cooperation.  I  trust  the  inclosed  may  be  serviceable  for 
your  book,  and  shall  feel  proud  if  it  is. 

"  I  am  doing  my  job  here  for  two  very  practical  reasons ; 
first,  the  immediate  service  of  reducing  the  cost  of  living 
to  say  15,000  families,  mostly  poor;  second,  to  introduce 
economy  in  retailing. 

"  The  readers  of  such  a  book  as  yours  are  well  aware  of  the 
wasteful  ways  of  retailing  goods.  In  every  town  and  city 
there  is  a  multiplication  of  stores,  advertising  clerks,  teams, 
and  other  incidentals. 

"Likewise  there  is  a  lot  of  middle  men  and  drummers,  the 
buyers  at  the  producer's  end,  the  wholesalers  or  middle 
men  at  the  consumer's  end,  with  speculator  and  landowner 
at  both  ends.  All  of  these  have  to  be  supported  by  the 
system,  and  the  dear  consumer  pays  for  it. 

"  The  Cooperative  store  system,  which  was  started  in  Eng- 
land 73  years  ago,  eliminates  most  of  these  waste  expenses. 
The  system  has  kept  spreading  at  an  astonishing  rate ;  in  Great 
Britain  there  are  now  3^  million  members,  and  more  than  a 
billion  of  sales  a  year.  Other  European  countries  are  full 
of  these  stores.  Many  of  the  retail  stores  have  from  twelve 
thousand  to  fifty  thousand  members;  their  sales  run  into 


254  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

the  millions.  They  are  federated  in  a  wholesale  agency 
which  buys  for  them  and  manufactures  on  an  extensive 
scale. 

"By  the  economies  thus  introduced  they  are  able  to  save 
regularly  about  15  %,  besides  paying  interest  on  the  capital 
employed,  and  accumulating  a  liberal  surplus.  It  is  simply 
a  question  of  people  getting  together  (all  civilization  is), 
contributing  their  own  money  and  their  trade,  and  thus 
avoiding  all  the  waste  expenses. 

"It  is  a  very  democratic  plan;  anybody  is  welcome  to 
join  it ;  every  member  has  one  vote  and  no  more,  they  elect 
then*  directors,  the  directors  elect  the  managers,  and  the 
managers  employ  the  clerks.  They  sell  at  the  market  prices 
and  every  three  or  six  months  take  account  of  stock  and  re- 
bate the  profits  in  proportion  to  each  member's  purchases, 
with  half  rate  to  non-members. 

"  It  appeals  to  the  economical  sense  of  the  ordinary  house- 
keeper, and  to  the  ethical  sense  of  those  who  want  no  advan- 
tage of  their  neighbor.  It  prevents  some  from  getting  unduly 
rich  and  it  helps  to  keep  many  from  being  unduly  poor. 

"The  same  principle  has  spread  into  farmer's  work,  espe- 
cially Creameries.  In  Cooperative  Creameries  and  Stores 
Russia  has  grown  faster  in  the  last  15  years  than  any  other 
country,  having  at  last  reports  over  thirteen  million 
members.  This  orderly  getting  together  for  common  social 
needs  has  much  to  do  with  the  orderliness  of  the  Russian 
Revolution. 

"The  United  States  has  made  large  progress  in  producers' 
cooperative  associations,  but  not  much  in  stores. 

"  I  have  in  New  Orleans  a  system  of  65  stores  on  a  modified 
system ;  it  is  a  cooperative  association  but  we  sell  at  as  low 
prices  as  can  be  afforded,  for  cash  in  hand.  The  sales  amount 


RETAIL  COOPERATION  255 

to  about  2^  millions,  the  most  of  it  in  the  winter.  The  Asso- 
ciation owns  a  Bakery,  a  Creamery,  Condiment  Factory} 
and  Coffee  Factory,  and  a  1550-acre  plantation.  We  are 
able  to  undersell  the  market  about  20  %. 

"  People  anywhere  can  make  a  cooperative  store  if  they  take 
it  seriously.  There  should  be  about  200  members  and  $2000 
in  cash  to  start  with :  then  get  an  honest  and  intelligent 
manager ;  start  with  a  grocery,  buy  and  sell  for  cash,  either  on 
the  Rochdale  plan  of  selling  at  full  market  prices  and  dividing 
the  profits  periodically,  or  on  my  plan  of  selling  as  cheaply  as 
can  be  afforded.  In  either  plan  it  works  out  into  producing 
a  large  part  of  the  goods  sold,  thus  eliminating  entirely  the 
superfluous  middleman. 

"  Three  acres  and  Liberty  is  the  correct  way  of  producing 
a  living;  with  the  adjunct  of  a  cooperative  store  to  do  the 
selling'of  the  surplus  produced  and  the  buying  of  goods  needed, 
the  small  farmer  is  free  from  all  the  waste  and  trammels  of 
trade." 

Now  what's  the  matter  with  your  helping  your  county 
and  country  and  humanity  by  organizing  those  two  hundred 
waiting  buyers  in  your  own  town  ?  You  can  be  the  "  honest 
and  intelligent  manager"  at  a  decent  salary.  If,  later,  the 
cooperators  want  another  manager,  why  you  can  easily 
organize  another  store.  The  best  information  on  this  subject 
is  the  Cooperative  News,  Manchester,  England;  subscrip- 
tion two  dollars. 

Evidence  is  daily  accumulating  that  the  food  and  farm 
problem  is  not  so  easy  as  many  thought  it  to  be  a  few  months 
ago.  This  is  made  clear  when  economists  say :  "  The  really 
important  question  in  the  food  problem  is  not  distribution, 
it  is  production."  It  is  unfortunate  that  this  statement 
should  gain  belief  at  this  time,  when  those  who  prey  upon 


256  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

the  'producer  are  watching  for  any  support  from  whatever 
direction. 

Passing  by  the  obvious  fact  that  production  must  precede 
distribution,  notice  that,  with  all  the  energy  that  has  been 
devoted  to  production  of  farm  products  by  the  government 
experts,  it  is  clear  that  not  only  is  there  a  shortage,  but 
that  it  has  required  all  kinds  of  inducements,  from  the 
President  down,  to  get  the  farmers  to  increase  their  output, 
the  most  potent  of  all  being  the  cry  of  patriotism. 

Some  explain  this  by  showing  how  land  monopoly  prevents 
men  going  back  to  the  farms.  While  this  is  perfectly  true,  it 
does  not  answer  the  question  why  farmers  now  in  possession 
of  farms  are  not  working  them  near  their  capacity. 

The  answer  of  the  ordinary  man  to  this  is  inefficiency  on 
the  part  of  the  farmer,  and  up  to  the  present  this  idea  has 
passed  as  sufficient  to  account  for  the  situation.  The 
publicity  given  the  whole  farm  question  during  the  past  six 
months,  however,  has  to  a  large  extent  dispelled  the  in- 
efficiency answer,  as  the  farmer  has  responded  so  completely 
to  the  call,  and  the  amateurs  are  beginning  to  realize  that 
there  is  something  in  farming  besides  tickling  the  earth  with 
a  feather.  All  the  facts  so  far  brought  out  show  the  farmer 
abundantly  able  to  produce  all  the  foodstuffs  needed,  pro- 
vided he  has  a  reasonable  certainty  that  he  will  be  able  to 
dispose  of  his  produce  at  a  price  that  will  give  him  a  fair 
return  for  his  labor.  This  being  the  case,  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
putting  more  men  back  on  farms  would  not  remedy  the  condi- 
tion we  are  now  in ;  but  would  rather  increase  the  difficulty. 

The  fact  is,  the  two  blades  of  grass  theory  has  been  exploded, 
the  increased  production  cry  has  been  tried  out,  carried  to  its 
logical  conclusion,  and  found  wanting,  and  the  inefficiency 
explanation  has  been  proved  a  falsehood  on  its  face.  It  is, 


RETAIL  COOPERATION  257 

therefore,  obvious  that  with  a  proper  system  of  distribution, 
the  entire  question  of  production  will  take  care  of  itself; 
but  just  so  long  as  the  producers  find  it  unprofitable  to  pro- 
duce food,  just  so  long  will  they  have  to  figure  carefully  not 
to  grow  too  much,  or  it  would  be  better  for  them  had  they 
grown  nothing  at  all. 

The  reason  why  we  have  such  divergent  ideas  on  this  sub- 
ject is  that  so  many  people  write  about  it  who  have  had  no 
experience  in  farming,  while  on  the  other  hand  there  are  few 
farmers  who  can  state  the  case  so  the  public  can  grasp  the 
most  obvious  facts. 

Finally,  it  is  a  question  of  the  government  doing  what  it 
ought  not  to  have  done  and  leaving  undone  those  things 
it  ought  to  have  done.  It  has  granted  to  a  few  monopolies 
transportation  and  terminal  facilities  which  enable  them  to 
hold  up  deliveries  and  thus  control  prices.  The  remedy 
lies  in  seeing  that  the  government  attend  to  its  own  busi- 
ness, which  is  securing  equality  of  opportunity  for  all,  and 
special  privileges  to  none. 

It  follows  that  cooperation  should  not  stop  either  at 
production  or  at  distribution.  It  must  embrace  the  source  of 
both,  nor  even  stop  at  governmental  plans  of  small  holdings. 

As  a  business  enterprise,  combining  philanthropy  and 
percentage,  capital  has  an  opportunity. 

Accordingly  an  option  should  be  secured  upon  a  large 
piece  of  land  not  over  forty  miles  from  a  large  city,  near  a 
railroad  station.  The  transportation  at  first  is  not  im- 
portant, as  the  new  commuters  will  make  a  demand  for  it, 
and  cheap  autos  will  largely  fill  the  gap ;  it  will  improve 
rapidly. 

If  possible  it  should  have  a  lake  or  a  fair  stream  on  it  for 
irrigation  and  small  water  power ;  the  soil  should  be  examined 


258  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

by  experts,  to  see  that  it  is  suitable  for  trucking  and  market 
gardening. 

The  object  should  be  to  make  a  sort  of  vacant  lot  gardening 
plan  on  a  grand  scale.  Heretofore  the  trouble  has  been  that 
we  have  been  unable  to  get  land  where  there  was  any  assur- 
ance that  we  could  have  it  again  the  second  year,  and  that 
the  limited  amount  of  land  makes  it  impossible  to  give  the 
men  as  much  as  they  ought  to  have.  They  do  not  need  much 
land,  because  a  man  working  at  intensive  culture  with  only 
the  rough  plowing  done  for  him  cannot  take  good  care 
of  much  more  than  one  acre  of  land.  He  will  probably  make 
as  much  money  out  of  one  acre  of  land  as  he  will  out  of  two. 
Those  who  are  willing  to  work  should  be  given  one  acre  of 
land,  with  the  assurance  that  they  can  have  it  as  long  as  they 
work  it  faithfully  and  comply  with  the  simple  rules  which  we 
have  found  so  effective  in  the  Vacant  Lot  Gardening  work,  — 
which  are  practically,  that  a  man  should  attend  to  business 
and  not  annoy  his  neighbors.  No  contract  or  lease  should 
be  given  the  men,  or  indeed  the  women,  for  both  work  such 
gardens,  as  they  have  been  doing  for  the  past  twenty  years 
in  several  large  cities,  making  at  least  a  living  upon  the  land 
and  often  a  very  large  return. 

There  must  be  a  competent  superintendent,  for  everything 
depends  upon  him,  who  would  show  the  men  what  land  they 
should  use,  what  they  should  put  in,  instruct  them  how  to  do 
it,  and  market  their  products  cooperatively.  Experience 
in  Philadelphia,  and  in  some  score  of  other  cities  where  they 
have  established  Vacant  Lot  Gardens,  shows  that  about  ten 
per  cent  annually  of  the  people  prefer  to  work  for  others, 
and  consequently  take  places  in  the  country  after  they  have 
learned  to  do  market  gardening.  Some  others,  being  dis- 
satisfied with  so  little  land,  and  wanting  to  own  their  own 


RETAIL  COOPERATION  259 

place,  go  off  and  buy  land  or  lease  it  for  themselves.  This 
makes  a  constant  drain  from  the  gardens,  leaving  openings 
for  others  who  will  learn  in  time  their  trade ;  it  is  possible  to 
make  in  this  way  a  steady  drain  out  of  the  cities  to  the  coun- 
try, and  what  is  better  still,  an  automatic  drain. 

The  land  must  be  so  near  to  a  center  of  population  that 
it  may  be  possible  to  take  a  gang  of  men  down  there  in 
the  morning,  show  them  what  it  is,  and  send  back  those  who 
do  not  seem  likely  to  make  good,  or  who  are  dissatisfied ;  and 
that  when  men  get  then*  gardens  successfully  running,  they 
may  be  able  to  bring  then*  friends  there  to  see  what  they 
have  done,  and  say  to  them,  "Go  thou  and  do  likewise." 

I  have  been  at  Trudeau,  Saranac  Lake,  and  at  Stony  Wold, 
the  consumptive  sanitariums,  and  found  there  both  by 
observation  and  by  testimony  that  to  send  back  the  convales- 
cents to  the  bench  or  the  workshop  from  which  they  came  is 
practically  to  repronounce  upon  them  the  sentence  of  death 
from  which  the  sanitarium  has  offered  them  a  reprieve.  The 
only  practical  thing  to  do  with  such  convalescents,  and  with 
such  persons  who  are  not  capable  of  their  ordinary  avocations, 
is  to  get  them  in  some  way  upon  the  land.  There  is  a  large 
demand  for  persons  who  understand  the  new  intensive  garden- 
ing, and  places  can  be  found  for  more  than  we  can  hope 
to  educate  in  that  line. 

There  should  be  buildings  upon  the  land  sufficient  to  bunk 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  men ;  accommodations 
could  be  made  with  the  small  timber  for  a  considerable 
number.  Many  of  these  men  would  need  some  help,  but 
most  of  them  would  shift  for  themselves  if  only  they  could  get 
the  opportunity  to  build  upon  the  land  and  to  have  a  secure 
tenure  of  it.  A  mere  tenant  knows  that  it  is  bunkum 
when  he  says  "Our  Country." 


260  THREE  ACRES  AND   LIBERTY 

It  is  perfectly  practicable  to  sell  about  one  half  of  the  land 
in  a  year  or  two,  and  have  a  thousand  acres  or  more  left  free 
and  clear,  which  will  cost  the  promoters  nothing.  Renting 
this  out  or  selling  it  will  repay  the  whole  cost,  and  probably 
bring  a  large  profit  besides. 

This  is  no  experiment,  it  is  only  to  do  the  thing  that  we 
have  been  doing  under  various  conditions  with  various 
sorts  of  men  in  different  localities  for  the  past  twenty  years 
in  the  Vacant  Lot  Gardens :  namely,  to  give  men  the  oppor- 
tunity of  living  upon  and  cultivating  land,  putting  up  their 
own  tents,  shacks,  or  bungalows,  and  giving  them  such  in- 
struction and  such  help  as  does  not  cost  anything  more 
than  the  salary  of  the  superintendent.  There  are  abundant 
men  who  can  make  good  and  shift  for  themselves  under  those 
circumstances ;  the  men  who  are  available  are  single  men, 
such  men  as  those  for  whom  Mr.  Hallimond,  a  clergyman 
working  in  the  Bowery,  has  been  finding  rural  employment  in 
the  past  ten  years.  Also  many  families  will  come  to  us  through 
the  Vacant  Lot  Gardens  and  the  Little  Land  agitation. 

People  such  as  these  will  increase  the  land  value,  for  every 
decent  man  carries  around  with  him  at  least  five  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  increase  in  land  values  which  his  presence 
adds  to  somebody's  holdings  of  land.  The  struggle  to  pocket 
this  increase  accounts  for  much  of  the  human  drift  from  the 
field  to  the  factory. 

God  made  the  country ;  man  made  the  city  —  and  the 
devil  made  the  suburbs,  by  the  aid  of  the  speculator. 

Alpha  of  the  Plough  says  in  the  London  Star:  "I  was 
walking  with  a  friend  along  the  Spaniards-road  the  other 
evening  talking  on  the  inexhaustible  theme  of  these  days, 
when  he  asked,  'What  is  the  biggest  thing  that  has  happened 
to  this  country  as  the  outcome  of  the  war?' 


RETAIL  COOPERATION  261 

" '  It  is  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  here/  I 
replied.  '  Come  this  way  and  I'll  show  it  to  you.' 

"  He  seemed  a  little  surprised,  but  accompanied  me  cheer- 
fully enough  as  I  turned  from  the  road  and  plunged  through 
the  gorse  and  the  trees  towards  Parliament  Fields,  until  we 
came  upon  a  large  expanse  of  allotments,  carved  out  of  the 
great  playground,  and  alive  with  figures,  men,  women,  and 
children,  some  earthing  up  potatoes,  some  weeding  onion 
beds,  some  thinning  out  carrots,  some  merely  walking  along 
the  patches,  and  looking  at  the  fruits  of  their  labor  springing 
from  the  soil.  'There/  I  said,  'is  the  most  important 
result  of  the  war.' 

"  He  laughed,  but  not  contemptuously.  He  knew  what  I 
meant,  and  I  think  he  more  than  hah0  agreed. 

"  And  I  think  you  will  agree,  too,  if  you  will  think  what 
that  stretch  of  allotments  means.  It  is  the  symptom  of  the 
most  important  revival,  the  greatest  spiritual  awakening  this 
country  has  seen  for  generations.  Wherever  you  go,  that 
symptom  meets  you.  Here  in  Hampstead  allotments  are 
as  plentiful  as  blackberries  in  autumn.  A  friend  of  mine 
who  lives  in  Beckenham  tells  me  there  are  fifteen  hundred  in 
his  parish.  In  the  neighborhood  of  London  there  must  be 
many  thousands.  In  the  country  as  a  whole  there  must  be 
hundreds  of  thousands.  If  dear  old  Joseph  Fels  could 
revisit  the  glimpses  of  the  moon  and  see  what  is  happening, 
see  the  vacant  lots  and  waste  spaces  bursting  into  onion 
beds  and  potato  patches,  what  joy  would  be  his!  He 
was  the  forerunner  of  the  revival,  the  passionate  pilgrim 
of  the  Vacant  Lot:  but  his  hot  gospel  fell  on  deaf  ears, 
and  he  died  just  before  the  trumpet  of  war  awakened  the 
sleeper. 

"Do  not  suppose  that  the  greatness  of  this  thing  that  is 


262  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

happening  can  be  measured  in  terms  of  food.  That  is 
important,  no  doubt,  but  it  is  not  the  most  important  thing. 
I  am  confident  that  it  will  add  more  than  anything  else  to 
the  spiritual  resources  of  the  nation.  It  is  the  beginning  of  a 
war  on  the  disease  that  is  blighting  our  people.  What  is 
wrong  with  us  ?  What  is  the  root  of  our  social  and  spiritual 
ailment  ?  Is  it  not  the  divorce  of  the  people  from  the  soil  ? 
For  generations  the  wholesome  red  blood  of  the  country 
has  been  sucked  into  the  great  towns,  and  we  have  built 
up  a  vast  machine  of  industry  that  has  made  slaves  of  us, 
shut  out  the  light  of  the  fields  from  our  lives,  left  our  children 
to  grow  like  weeds  in  the  slums,  rootless  and  waterless, 
poisoned  the  healthy  instincts  of  nature  implanted  in  us, 
and  put  in  their  place  the  rank  growths  of  the  streets.  Can 
you  walk  through  a  working-class  district  or  a  Lancashire 
cotton  town,  with  then*  huddle  of  airless  streets,  without  a 
feeling  of  despair  coming  over  you  at  the  sense  of  this  enor- 
mous perversion  of  life  into  the  arid  channels  of  death  ?  Can 
you  take  pride  in  an  Empire  on  which  the  sun  never  sets 
when  you  think  of  the  courts  in  which,  as  Will  Crooks  says, 
the  sun  never  rises? 

"  And  now  the  sun  is  going  to  rise.  We  have  started  a 
revolution  that  will  not  end  until  the  breath  of  the  earth 
has  come  back  to  the  soul  of  the  people.  The  tyranny  of 
the  machine  is  going  to  be  broken.  The  tyranny  of  the  land 
monopoly  is  going  to  be  lifted.  Yes,  you  say,  but  these 
people  that  I  see  working  on  the  allotments  are  not  the 
people  from  the  courts  and  the  slums ;  but  professional  men, 
the  superior  artisan,  and  so  on,  That  is  true.  But  the 
movement  must  get  hold  of  the  intelligentsia  first.  The  im- 
portant thing  is  that  the  breach  in  the  prison  is  made ;  the 
fresh  air  is  filtering  in;  the  idea  is  born  —  not  still-born, 


RETAIL  COOPERATION  263 

mind  you,  but  born  a  living  thing.    It  is  a  way  of  salvation 
that  will  not  be  lost,  and  that  all  will  travel. 

"  We  have  found  the  land,  and  we  are  going  back  to  possess 
it.  Take  a  man  out  of  the  street  and  put  him  in  a  garden, 
and  you  have  made  a  new  creature  of  him.  I  have  seen  the 
miracle  again  and  again.  I  know  a  bus  conductor,  for  example, 
outwardly  the  most  ordinary  of  his  kind.  But  one  night  I 
mentioned  allotments,  touched  the  key  of  his  soul,  and 
discovered  that  this  man  was  going  about  his  daily  work 
irradiated  by  the  thought  of  his  garden  triumphs.  He  had 
got  a  new  purpose  in  life.  He  had  got  the  spirit  of  the 
earth  in  his  bones.  It  is  not  only  the  humanizing  influence 
of  the  garden,  it  is  its  democratizing  influence  too. 

'  When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span 
Where  was  then  the  gentleman  ?  ' 

You  can  get  on  terms  with  the  lowliest  if  you  will  discuss 
gardens." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

SUMMER  COLONIES  FOR  CITY  PEOPLE 

(Condensed  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  of  the  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion. Vol.  2,  now  out  of  print.) 

BERLIN  has  not  been  boastful  of  a  new  sociological  feature 
which  it  has  developed  within  the  last  fifteen  years,  a  feature 
so  revolutionary  in  its  bearing  upon  education  and  upon  the 
general  health  of  future  generations,  that  it  should  be  made 
known  to  the  world.  As  yet  little  has  been  said  about  this 
new  agency.  It  may  be  because  it  is  not  a  governmental  in- 
stitution, but  the  result  of  self-help  and  of  the  recognition  of 
a  plain  necessity.  It  may  be  assumed  that  if  the  summer 
colonies  had  been  instituted  by  the  government  for  the 
great  majority  who  are  poor  it  would  not  have  succeeded  so 
well  as  it  has. 

The  teachers,  seeing  that  the  horizon  of  their  pupils  was 
limited  by  brick  and  mortar  (for  open  park  spaces  are  rare 
in  Berlin),  came  to  the  conclusion  that  only  by  giving  their 
pupils  opportunity  to  live  in  the  open  air  could  they  lay  a 
sound  foundation  of  knowledge  of  natural  objects  and  pro- 
cesses as  a  basis  for  school  studies.  The  teachers  of  them- 
selves, however,  could  apply  only  palliative  remedies,  such 
as  having  sent  to  them,  from  the  botanical  gardens,  thousands 
of  specimens  of  plants,  twigs,  flowers,  fruit,  etc.,  for  nature 
study  in  the  schoolroom;  planting  flower  beds  around  the 

264 


SUMMER  COLONIES  FOR  CITY  PEOPLE   265 

schoolhouses ;  also,  brief  excursions  into  parks,  and  hanging 
up  before  the  class  colored  pictures  of  landscapes  and  rural 
scenery. 

While  in  many  cases,  especially  in  large  cities,  the  neces- 
sity was  recognized  of  getting  the  children  out  of  the  great 
desert  of  brick  and  mortar  into  the  open  air  and  into  com- 
panionship with  life  in  the  field,  the  garden,  the  brooks,  and 
the  woods,  it  had  nowhere  resulted  in  a  systematic  effort 
to  aid  the  children  of  an  entire  city  in  that  way  until  it  was 
tried  in  Berlin.  Of  course  it  is  well  understood,  not  only 
abroad,  but  in  New  York  and  in  other  large  cities  of  this 
country,  that  something  must  be  done  to  alleviate  the  want 
of  space  and  fresh  air,  and  so  recreation  piers  and  roof  gar- 
dens are  provided,  excursions  of  schools  into  parks  are  un- 
dertaken, open-air  playgrounds  are  instituted,  and  similar 
efforts  are  made  tending  to  mitigate  the  evil  effects  of  city 
life ;  but  all  these  efforts  are  merely  sporadic  or  temporary ; 
they  do  not  attack  the  evil  at  the  roots ;  moreover  they  are 
only  drops  in  the  bucket  when  compared  with  that  which 
is  necessary. 

This  tendency  to  cooperative  and  collective  action  has  re- 
sulted in  this  particular  case  in  thousands  of  the  children's 
"  Arbor  Gardens  "  round  about  the  city.  It  is  an  experience 
"en  gros,"  one  of  such  dimensions  that  cavil  ceases  and  ad- 
miration rises  supreme. 

The  German  poor  are  very  poor  indeed,  but  parents  were 
induced  to  rent,  at  a  price  of  4  marks  ($1)  or  about  20  cents 
a  month  from  May  to  October  for  the  summer  season,  a 
patch  of  land  in  the  suburbs  of  Berlin  unfit  for  farmland 
because  cut  up  by  railroad  tracks  and  newly  laid-out  streets. 
On  one  of  these  patches  a  family  might  erect  an  arbor,  or  a 
small  structure  of  boards  with  a  wide  veranda  and  a  cor- 


266  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

rugated  iron  roof,  for  housing  themselves  and  children  dur- 
ing the  summer  months.  The  dwellings  are  of  the  most 
primitive  kind  and  rather  flimsy;  no  permanent  structure 
can  be  allowed,  for  at  any  time  the  owner  of  the  land  may 
give  notice  to  vacate  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  row  of 
houses,  railroad  buildings,  or  other  permanent  structures. 
The  tenants  themselves  build  fences  of  wire  or  plant  hedges 
to  keep  the  different  plots  apart.  On  these  patches  the 
children,  under  the  guidance  of  teachers,  parents,  and  ap- 
pointed guardians,  began  to  sow  flower  seeds,  plant  shrubs, 
vines,  and  trees,  or  raise  kitchen  vegetables,  each  group 
or  family  according  to  its  own  desires  and  needs.  Since 
the  "arbors"  are  small  they  do  not  decrease  the  arable  land 
of  the  allotments  much,  and  there  is  still  room  left  for  swings, 
gymnastic  apparatus,  and  similar  contrivances,  as  well  as 
bare  sandy  spots  for  little  tots  to  play  in.  The  various  al- 
lotments are  mostly  uniform  in  size  and  are  reached  by  nar- 
row three-  or  four-foot  lanes,  on  which  occasionally  are  seen 
probationary  officers  or  guardians  who  keep  the  peace  and 
settle  cases  of  disturbance. 

The  "arbor  gardens"  are  established  on  every  square  rod 
of  unused  land  round  about  the  city,  on  vacant  lots,  far  out 
to  the  borders'  of  the  well-trained  woods  and  royal  forests. 
Small  tradesmen,  laboring  men,  civil  officials  of  low  degrees, 
etc.,  have  found  it  profitable  to  forsake  their  tenements  in 
the  city  and  move  kith  and  kin  into  those  "arbor colonies." 
The  tenements  in  Berlin  are  as  bad  as  in  our  own  big  cities, 
only  better  policed. 

Not  all  of  these  arbor  gardens  are  occupied  by  families 
during  the  night.  Thousands  return  to  their  city  homes 
evenings.  Some  parents,  unable  to  free  themselves  from  toil 
in  town,  send  their  children  under  guidance  of  servants, 


SUMMER  COLONIES  FOR  CITY  PEOPLE   267 

and   spend   only   occasional   Sundays   and   holidays   with 
them. 

The  people,  especially  the  children,  getting  some  infor- 
mation concerning  the  treatment  of  the  crops  from  compe- 
tent advisers  in  school  and  out  in  the  arbor  colonies,  derive 
great  good  from  their  horticultural  and  floricultural  work. 
Families  who  are  aesthetically  inclined  devote  their  space  to 
flowers  and  trailing  vines  exclusively;  others,  utilitarians 
from  necessity,  plant  potatoes,  carrots,  turnips,  beets,  beans, 
strawberries,  and  the  like.  The  feeling  of  ownership  being 
strongly  developed  in  the  children  in  seeing  the  results  of 
their  own  labor,  the  crops  are  respected  by  the  neighbors 
and  pilfering  rarely  occurs,  except  perhaps  in  a  case  of  great 
hunger. 

Several  hundred  or  a  thousand  of  such  patches  of  land,  or 
gardens,  situated  in  close  proximity  to  each  other,  form  an 
arbor  colony,  which  has  a  governor,  or  mayor,  who  is  an  un- 
paid city  official.  He  arranges  the  leasing  of  the  land,  col- 
lects the  rents,  and  hands  them  over  to  the  gratified  land- 
owners who  don't  even  have  to  collect  them.  There  is 
always  a  retired  merchant  or  civil  officer  to  fill  the  office,  to 
which  is  attached  neither  title,  emolument,  nor  special  honor. 
He  is  assisted  by  a  "colonial  committee"  of  trustees  selected 
from  the  colonists,  who  act  as  justices  of  the  peace,  in  case 
disturbances  should  arise.  If  colonists  prove  frequent  dis- 
turbers of  the  peace  or  are  found  incapable  of  living  quietly, 
their  leases  are  not  renewed.  Of  course  there  are  such  cases, 
but  they  are  rare. 

Since  the  size  of  an  "  arbor  garden  "  is  from  about  two  six- 
teenths to  three  sixteenths  of  an  acre,  say  two  or  three  New 
York  City  Lots,  those  forming  a  colony  make  a  considerable 
community,  in  which  the  authority  of  the  committee,  or 


268  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

board  of  trustees,  is  absolute,  and  the  few  cases  they  have 
had  to  adjudicate  have  generally  been  caused  by  nagging 
women.  It  is  claimed  in  the  press  that  these  colonists  are 
literally  without  scandals,  and  that  the  life  led  by  young 
and  old  is  a  most  peaceful  and  happy  one.  People  who  are 
hard  at  work  are  not  likely  to  be  quarrelsome  :  good  whole- 
some food,  much  exercise  in  play  and  labor,  and  an  abundance 
of  fresh  air  and  sunshine  are  conducive  to  happiness,  es- 
pecially as  the  clothing  may  be  of  a  primitive  kind,  or  need 
not  conform  to  the  dictates  of  fashion. 

A  teacher  remarked :  "It  is  noticeable  that  since  these 
school  children  are  engaged  in  lucrative  work  which  does 
not  go  beyond  their  strength,  and  since  they  see  with  their 
own  eyes  the  results  of  their  labor,  a  sense  of  responsibility 
is  engendered  which  has  a  beneficial  influence  upon  school 
work  also.  Respect  for  all  kinds  of  labor  and  a  decrease  in 
the  destructiveness  so  often  found  among  boys  are  unmis- 
takable effects  of  the  arbor  gardens.  It  is  not  easy  work 
which  the  children  perform,  for  spade  and  rake  require  mus- 
cular effort;  but  it  is  ennobling  work,  for  it  leads  to  self- 
respect,  self-dependence,  and  respect  for  others,  as  well  as 
willingness  to  aid  others.  The  most  beautiful  sight  is  af- 
forded when,  on  a  certain  date  agreed  on  by  the  members  of 
a  colony,  a  harvest  festival  is  held.  Then  flag  raisings  and 
illuminations  and  singing  and  music  make  the  day  a  mem- 
orable one." 

Most  of  the  families  had  not  the  means  to  buy  the  lumber 
and  hardware  to  erect  an  "arbor," and  yet  they  were  the  very 
ones  to  whom  the  life  in  the  open  would  be  of  the  greatest 
benefit.  Hence  philanthropy  erected  the  structures.  The 
Patriotic  Woman's  League  of  the  Red  Cross  built  half  of  all 
the  "arbors"  of  the  colony  found  on  the  "Jungfernheide." 


SUMMER  COLONIES  FOR  CITY  PEOPLE    269 

Many  colonies  reach  into  the  woods,  and  naturally  are  of  a 
different  character  from  those  in  the  open,  for  there  tents 
are  used  instead  of  wooden  structures.  For  protection  during 
the  night  watchmen  pace  up  and  down  the  lanes;  this 
before  the  war  entailed  a  cost  of  1\  cents  a  month  to  each 
family.  The  season  lasts  from  May  1  to  October  1. 

The  school-going  population  meanwhile  attend  their 
schools,  which  used  to  be  reached  by  means  of  the  elevated 
cars  or  surface  tramways  for  2§  cents  and  much  cheaper 
if  they  have  commuters'  tickets.  Many  schools  are  near 
enough  to  be  reached  on  foot.  The  children  do  not  loiter 
on  the  way,  but  when  school  is  out  they  hurry  "home"  to 
begin  work  in  the  garden,  or  to  sit  down  to  a  meal  on  the 
veranda,  which  is  relished  far  more  than  a  meal  in  a  city 
tenement  house  filled  with  fetid  air  and  wanting  in  light. 
Nearly  every  one  of  these  gardens  has  a  flagpole,  and  at 
night  a  Japanese  paper  lantern  with  a  tallow  dip  in  it  il- 
luminates the  veranda.  These,  with  flags  by  day,  make  a 
festive  appearance.  The  teachers  find  that  city  children 
who  spend  the  five  months  in  the  open  air  are  well  equipped 
with  elementary  ideas  in  physical  geography  and  astronomy. 
Their  mental  equipment  is  better,  indeed,  in  all  fields  of 
thought,  their  physical  health  is  unproved,  as  well  as  their 
ethical  motives  and  conduct. 

To  realize  the  full  extent  of  these  wholesale  efforts  (for 
put  children  into  close  contact  with  nature  and  they  will 
improve  in  all  directions),  it  is  well  to  take  a  ride  on  the 
North  belt  line  (elevated  steam  railroad),  the  trains  of  which 
start  from  the  Friedrich's  street  depot  and  bring  one  back 
after  a  ride  of  an  hour  and  a  half.  Then  one  may  do  the  same 
on  the  South  belt  line.  On  these  two  trips  one  will  see,  not 
hundreds,  but  tens  of  thousands  of  such  "arbor  gardens" 


270  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

full  of  happy  women  and  children  at  work  or  play.  The  men 
come  out  on  the  belt  line  when  their  work  in  town  is  done. 
The  writer  was  riding  through  the  city  on  an  open  cab,  and 
seeing  hardly  any  children  on  the  streets  and  in  the  parks, 
he  asked, "How  is  it  that  we  see  no  children  out?"  "Ah, 
sir,"  was  the  reply,  "if  you  will  see  the  children  of  Berlin  you 
must  go  out  to  the  arbor  colonies  outside  of  the  city.  There 
is  where  our  children  are."  Subsequent  visits  to  these  colony 
gardens  showed  that  Berlin  is  by  no  means  a  childless  city. 
To  judge  from  the  multitudinous  arbors  to  be  seen  from  the 
windows  of  the  belt  line  cars  there  must  be  50,000  to  75,000 
of  them.  As  far  as  the  eye  reaches  the  flagpoles,  the 
orderly  fences,  and  the  little  structures  can  be  seen;  and 
since  the  city  has  2,000,000  inhabitants,  it  is  very  likely  that 
an  estimate  made  by  a  city  official  of  several  hundred  thou- 
sands of  children  thus  living  in  the  open  air,  is  not  excessive. 
The  most  beautiful  and  best-arranged  gardens  are  not  found 
in  the  vicinity  of  railroads,  but  several  miles  out  toward 
the  north  and  the  south  of  the  city.  Here,  where  the  soil 
is  better,  fine  crops  are  raised. 

If  we  turn  our  eyes  homeward  and  contemplate  the  many 
thousands  of  small  efforts  made  in  this  country  toward  the 
alleviation  of  city  children's  misery,  we  can  say  truthfully 
that  we  in  America  are  perhaps  fully  alive  to  the  necessity 
which  has  prompted  the  people  of  Berlin  to  action ;  we  only 
need  to  be  reminded  of  Mayor  Pingree's  potato  patches  on 
empty  city  lots,  our  children's  outing  camps,  our  occasional 
children's  excursions,  and  the  like.  Still,  there  is  nothing  in 
this  country  to  compare  with  the  thousands  of  Berlin 
"  arbor  gardens "  and  their  singularly  convincing  force. 
Like  a  circus,  all  this  is  supposed  to  be  for  the  children, 
though  it  usually  seems  to  need  about  two  grown  people 


SUMMER  COLONIES  FOR  CITY  PEOPLE    271 

to  escort  each  child.    The  elders  enjoy  the  gardens  even  more 
than  the  circus. 

The  arbor  gardens  of  Berlin  should  not  be  mistaken  for 
the  numerous  "forest  schools"  (Waldschulen)  in  Germany. 
These  schools  "in  the  woods  "are  for  sickly  children,  both 
physically  crippled  and  mentally  weak.  The  pupils  have 
their  lessons  in  the  open,  and  the  teachers  live,  play,  and 
work  with  them ;  long  recesses  separate  the  various  lessons 
and  a  two-hour  nap  in  the  middle  of  the  day  out  in  the 
open  is  on  the  time-table  of  every  one  of  these  schools. 
These  special  open-air  schools  for  weaklings  and  defectives 
are  now  found  in  many  parts  of  Germany,  notably  in  Char- 
lottenburg,  Strassburg,  and  the  industrial  regions  of  the 
Rhineland. 

The  example  of  Berlin  has  been  followed  in  other  German 
cities,  such  as  Munich,  notably  in  Diisseldorf  on  the  Rhine, 
where  the  arbor  gardens  are  called  "Schreber  gardens"  in 
honor  of  the  man  who  promoted  their  establishment.  There 
is  a  large  colony  of  such  gardens  along  the  Hans-Sachs 
street,  where  Lima  beans,  peas,  lettuce,  cucumbers,  potatoes, 
and  many  other  garden  vegetables  are  raised ;  even  straw- 
berries, raspberries,  and  fruit  trees  are  found  here.  But  the 
city  being  more  lavishly  provided  with  parks  and  open 
spaces  than  others  of  its  size,  the  necessity  for  open-air  life 
has  not  made  itself  felt  as  forcibly  as  in  Berlin. 

And  think  of  the  cleansing  influence  of  all  this.  Light 
and  air  and  labor  —  these  are  the  medicines  not  of  the  body 
only,  but  of  the  soul.  It  is  not  ponderable  things  alone  that 
are  found  in  gardens,  but  the  great  wonder  of  life,  the  peace 
of  nature,  the  influences  of  sunsets  and  seasons  and  of  all 
the  intangible  things  to  which  we  can  give  no  name,  not  be- 
cause they  are  small,  but  because  they  are  outside  the  com- 


272  THREE  ACRES  AND  LIBERTY 

pass  of  our  speech.  The  God  that  dwells  in  gardens  is  suffi- 
cient for  all  our  needs  —  let  the  theologians  say  what  they 
will. 

" '  Not  God  !  in  gardens  ?    When  the  eve  is  cool  ? 

Nay,  but  I  have  a  sign  — 

"Tis  very  sure  —  God  walks  in  mine.' " 


INDEX 


Acre,  rented,  2 

size  of,  2 

yields,  43,  47,  52 
Agricultural  Colleges,  210 

Department,     Ass't     Sec'y     Carl 

Vrooman  quoted,  33,  47 
Agriculture  for  Beginners,  213 
Alfalfa,  222,  239 
Animals,  wild,  as  food,  159,  235 
Apples,  124-180 

culture,  124,  180 

seed    experiment    in    Minnesota, 

214 

Asparagus,  57,  81 
Atlantic  Seaboard,  164 

Squab  Co.,  quoted,  115 

Bacteria,  nitrogenous,  91 

Bailey,  Prof.  L.  H.,  quoted,  35,  105 

Balls,   carbolic  moth,   with     potato 

seeds, 

Barrel  hoops,  122 
Barron,  Leonard,  107 
Bats,  as  mosquito  destroyers,  131 
Beans,  green,  72 

Lima,  72 

snap,  179 

soy,  233 

Bee-keeping,  116 
Beets,  36,  89 

Berlin's  Sociological  Bowers,  264 
Birds,  fancy  breeding,  156 
Blackberries,  130 
Blueberries,  132 

J.  H.  Hale  quoted,  132 
British  Isles,  vegetation  drawbacks,  8 
Buffum's,  Prof.,  plants,  237,  239 
Buildings,  sufficient  on  land,  193,  259 
Bulbs,  214 

experience  in  Puget  Sound  coun- 
try —  hyacinths  and  tulips 
Burroughs,     Julian,   his  garden   ex- 
perience, 77 


Cabbage,  89 
Canning,  241 

cold  pack,  247 

five  principles  of,  248 

in  Maryland,  175 
Cantaloupes,  179 
Carp,  domesticated,  152 
Cart,  capacity  in  bushels,  2 
Cat  breeding,  158 
Cattle,  on  small  holdings,  4 
Celery,  profit  and  loss,  90 
Cherries,  128,  241 
Chicory,  Whitloof  or  Belgian,  234 
City  drift  a  mere  symptom,  1 
Clearing  land  —  dynamite,  183,  191 

away  useless  trees,  186 
Colonies,  summer,  for  city  people,  264 
Containers,  glass  and  tin,  249 
Cooperation,  retail,  252 
Corn,  72,  222 

matures,  240 

planting,  214 
Cottage,  complete,  198 
Cotton,  222 
Coupin,  Henri,  on  hot  water  baths 

for  plants,  228 

Coville,  Frederick  V.,  on  grain,  96 
Cows,  41 

Cranberry  bogs,  131 
Creameries,  254 
Cropping,     companion  —  main    and 

secondary  crops,  64 
Cucumbers,  55,  73 
Cultivation,  intensive,   compared,  2 

best  place  to  carry  on,  163 
Currants,  129 

Dasheen  —  substitute  for  potato,  235 
Dates,  233 
Delaware,  170 

climate,  172 

game,  173 

home  of  small  fruits,  172 


273 


274 


INDEX 


Delaware,  soil,  171 

tax,  173 

Denmark,  small  holdings,  7* 
Diminishing  returns,  Engel,  34 
Dogs,  breeding,  158 
Drier,  homemade,  244 
Ducks,  114 

white  Pekins  for  dry  sites,  114 

Electric  juice,  244 
Emmer  in  place  of  corn,  238 
Engel,  Dr.,  on  scientific  farming,  34 
Ether  on  plants,  213 

Fairbrother,    W.    F.,  on    costs    and 

products  of  a  garden,  75 
Fairchild,    Dr.    David    S.,     experi- 
ments in  foods,  232 
Farm-hunting,  20 

Farm,  minister's,  near  Philadelphia, 
216 

Bonanza,  6 

worn  out  or  abandoned,  164 
Farmer,  Successful,  quoted,  54 
Farming,  book,  82 

fox,  160 

fur,  160 
Fertilizers :  manure,  87 

nitrate  of  soda,  89,  90 

nitrogen,  88 
Fish,  bass  as  food,  154 

bass  as  game,  153 

shell,  159 

trout,  153 
Flowers,  134 

bulbs,  214 

Maryland,  176 

prices,  139 

Foods,  experimental,  231 
Forestry   information,   where    avail- 
able, 219 
Fox  fanning,  160 
Free  Acres,  196 

Freight  rates,  competing,  14-15 
Frogs,  feeding  for  food,  151 
Fullerton,  Edith  Loring,  184 

Garden  Primer,  29 

Gardens,  arbor,  in  Germany,  265 

products,  271 

workers,  270 
Gardens,  beginner  in  market,  98 

kitchen,  70 


Gardens,  market,  81,  82 

requisites  for,  9 

roof,  8 

vacant  (city)  lot,  9 

war,  211 
Ginseng,  144 
Goats,  Angora,  191 

clearing  the  land,  191 
Golden  Seal,  medicinal  weed,  143 
Gooseberries,  129 
Grapes,  arbor,  127 
Green  beans,  72 
Greenhouses,  cheap  and  dear,  107 

Hares,  116 

Hartman,  D.  L.,  on  strawberries,  53 

on  various  products,  60 
Hemp,  as  land  clearer,  190 
Herb,  importation,  148 

report,  147 

time  for  collecting,  146 
Hiring  help,  advantages  of,  38 
Homecrofters'     Guild,     Watertown, 

Mass.,  206 

Honey,  a  business,  118 
Hotbeds,  102,  103 

cost  of,  104-106 
Houses,  Aladdin,  197 

cement  blocks,  199 

portable,  197 

Huckleberry,  the  untameable,  132 
Hundred  Year  Club,  G.  W.  Smith, 

203 

Hunn,  on  garden  advice  for  beginner, 
73 

Ice,  procuring  and  preserving,  246 
Immigrants,  advantages  by  remain- 
ing East,  176 

Immigration  to  the  South,  15 
Irrigation,  costly,  92 

overhead,  230 
Italy,  destruction  of  agricultural,  41 

Japanese  intense  culture,  76 
Jelly,  pulp  rose  berries,  226 
Jersey,  wonders  of  Island  of,  7,  8 
Jujube  (fruit),  232   - 

Labor,  lack  of,  180 
Land,  amount  of  space  needed  to  feed 
family,  37 


INDEX 


275 


Land,  back  to  the,  200 
fertility,  85 
idle,  abundance  of,  14 
low  priced,  17 

Landreth,  Burnett,  quoted,  210 

Langdon,  A.  L.,  in  "Real  Estate 
Record  and  Guide,"  on  Long 
Island,  166 

Lettuce,  179 

"Liberty  and  a  Living,"  quotation 
from,  39,  40 

Lima  beans,  72 

Living  conditions  before  the  Civil 
War,  different,  12 

London  Daily  News,  report  of  crops,  66 

Long  Island,  northeastern,  coop- 
erative features,  61 

Lumber,  prices,  183 

Macaroni,  introduction  of,  to  this 
country,  213 

wheat,  213 

Maine,  climate  —  products,  181 
Manure,  103 
Maryland,  173 

canning,  175 

flowers,  175 

State  Bureau  of  Immigration,  176 
Maynard,  Prof.  S.  T.,  quoted,  125 
Maxwell's  Talisman,  teaching  farmers 

to  profit  from  land,  212 
Milk,  to  be  rid  of,  233 
Milkweed,  its  use,  150 
Mint,  production  and  sale,  227 
Mississippi  Valley  transportation,  15 
Montana,   good   crops   without   irri- 
gation, 97 
Mushrooms,  varieties,  120 

National  Emergency  Food  Com- 
mission, 71,  248 

Nelson,  N.  O.,  on  "The  Cooperative 
Store  System,"  253 

New  Jersey,  fertile,  168 

New  Orleans,  codperative  stores,  253 

Nitrogen,  meat  marker,  71 
fertilizer,  88 

Nuts,  grown  for  commercial  use,  132 

Onions,  72 

Oppenheimer,   Franz,   on   equal   di- 
vision of  land,  42 
Osage  Orange,  edible,  150 


Peanuts,  culture  and  uses,  59 

Farmers'  Bulletin  25,  U.  S.  Dept. 
Peas,  72 

Petsai,  substitute  for  cabbage,  233 
Pigs,  profit  in,  236 
Plant  breeding,  237 
Planting  fruit  trees,  74 
Plants,  delicate,  86 
Pleasures  in  rural  homes,  123 
Pond  lilies  as  a  crop,  76 
Potatoes,  advantages,  84 

dried,  245 

sawdust  as  mulch,  226 

scab  prevention,  225 

Scotland,  215 

spraying,  97 

walks  to  cultivate,  2 

yields,  2 
Poultry,  feed,  114 

raising,  111 
Powell,  Geo.  T.,  quoted,  on  cherries, 

128 

Practical  experience,  224 
Profession,  coming,  for  boys,  208 
Publications,  miscellaneous,  224 
Pumpkins,  73 

Quails,  barnyard,  161 

Radishes,  72 

Railroads,  teaching  fanning,  211 
Chicago,     Burlington     &     Quincy 

Railway  Co.  lectures,  211 
Raspberries,  130,  241 
Rhubarb,  81 
Roberts,    Prof.,   on    advantages    of 

study,  40 
Ronna,  Prof.,  on  figures  on  crops  per 

acre,  47 
Roots,  burdock,  147 

Sawdust  as  mulch  for  potatoes,  226 
School  window  garden  boxes,  44 

at  Yonkers,  77 
Shack  of  logs,  195 
Silkworm,  a  possibility,  157 
Skunk  farming,  161 
Snail,  raising  for  the  table,  156 
Snakes  as  food,  159 
Soil  inoculation,  90 
Southern  States,  development,  165 


276 


INDEX 


Spinach,  179 
Squab  for  profit,  115 
Squash,  73 
Sterilization,  247 
Stock,  live,  151 
Stove,  Franklin,  197 
Strawberry,  53,  130 

garden  on  roof,  226 

yield,  175 

Stumps,  to  burn  out,  184 
Sugar  factory,  36 
Sunflower,  seed  industry,  58 
Swamp  land  uses,  164 

Taft,    Wm.    N.,  "Technical    World 

Magazine,"  Menu,  231 
Tea,  experience  in  So.  Carolina,  215 
Tents,  as  a  makeshift,  193 
Texas,  land  offer,  206 
Thistles,  riddance  of,  190 
Timber,  219 

miscellaneous  state  taxes,  222 
Time  for  sowing  seed,  62 

crops  are  ready,  63 
Title,  perfect  —  secured,  172 
Toads,  their  value,  131 
Tobacco,  181 

Connecticut,  175 

Maryland,  175 

Ohio,  59 

Pennsylvania,  59 
Tomato,  60,  89,  175 

culture,  102 

Tools  and  equipment,  79 
Tractors  instead  of  horses,  230 
Trees,  219 

advantages,  184 

pine,  195 

States  that  distribute  young  trees, 

221 

Trout,  domestic,  153 
Truck,  dried,  241 
Turtles,  profitable,  152 

Udo  as  substitute  for  asparagus,  235 
U.  S.  Fish  Commissioners'  report,  151 

Vacant    lot    cultivation,    9,  22,    75, 
258,  260 


Vacant  lot  experience,  38 

gardeners,  259 
Vegetables,  blanching,  243,  249 

cabbage,  32 

drying,  241,  242 

miscellaneous,  89 

peas,  32 

principles  of  vegetable  gardening, 
105 

wild,  149 
Virginia,  176 

climate'.  177 

tobacco,  179 

War,  result  to  land,  261 
Water  supply,  194 

transportation,  100 
Weed  killer,  hemp  as,  190 
Wells,  artesian,  189 
Wheat,  97,  163,  222,  239 

Buffum  No.  17  Winter  wheat,  239 

Turkey  red  wheat,  239 

yielded  in  various  states,  6 
Wheel  hoe,  a  blessing,  80,  190 
Wilcox  in  "Farming,"  213 

durum  or  macaroni,  213 
Wild  herbs,  fruits,  and  roots,  215 
Windows,  double,  197 
Wood,  Samuel,  quoted,  "Gardening, 

Multum  in  Parvo,"  66 
Woodchuck,  a  dainty,  159 
Woodland,  products  in  board  meas- 
ure, 220 
Wood  lots,  219 

fires,  221 

taxes,  221,  222 

Yield,  apples,  180 

beans,  snap,  179 

cantaloupes,  179 

emmer,  239 

lettuce,  179 

mint,  per  acre,  227 

spinach,  179 

strawberries,  175 

tomatoes,  175 
Youth,  in  tenements,  208 

on  farms,  209 


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